Poker Face
by Criminalmindschick221
Summary: JJ had been taught to expect anything, but when the unthinkable happens and the whole team is shocked, she finds herself unfazed. She knew deep down that this was going to happen. And now all she had to do was not give the wrong information and try desperately to hide her deepest secret. But when would that stop being enough?
1. Chapter 1

** "If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."**

E.B. White

* * *

It had started out as a pleasant day.

In fact, it almost nice enough to venture out and say that it was enjoyable.

The sun was shining down radiantly on the greatly sun-deprived city and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. That was a rare occasion in Quantico, Virginia. It seemed like almost every day was overcast of dull white clouds, which made the city seem even less exciting and dull to the residents that lived there.

But that day, well, it was pleasant.

It had at least started out that way…

But by the time the sun set and the sky darkened to a sinister dark blue, the almost-enjoyable pleasantness that had started off the day would be gone and everyone would end up longing to bathe in the sun that had previously occupied the sky.

Around noon on that beautiful Sunday, the park in Quantico had been thriving. The surprisingly nice atmosphere had drawn all of the normally cooped-up people to come out of their homes and enjoy some fresh air. They were walking dogs, pushing strollers, riding bikes, jogging, and some were even just sitting on benches and taking in all the enjoyment…it was more crowded than it had been in weeks, maybe even months.

On one of the public soccer fields, the "world famous" BAU soccer match was taking place. It was a seasonal event that the team had decided to hold just for fun to let off some steam over a weekend. This weekend in particular had been perfect to hold it considering how nice the weather had turned out to be. They all knew that the day was going to be fun. It was especially entertaining for people sitting on the sidelines because of how competitive everyone on the team actually was. No one wanted to lose. The two teams were chosen by the only neutral person that they could find; Garcia. She made sure that they weren't stacked.

**Team One: **

- Hotch

- Jack

- Rossi

- Morgan

**Team Two: **

- JJ

- Henry

- Emily

- Reid

It seemed pretty even and everyone had agreed that they would let the kids play for, at the most, half the game until the competition started to get too heated for them, but the trash talk, it started long before the game.

"You really think that you can beat us?" Morgan raised an eyebrow, standing powerfully over Emily like he was better than her. "Well…then you've got another thing coming, sweetie." He smirked at her arrogantly, looking almost flirtatious.

"You really think that Hotch and Rossi are going to be that good? Hotch was in _musicals_ during high school and Rossi is a _chef_. Look at my team; I'm in shape, Reid can help with strategy and JJ played soccer in college. You better not get your hopes up." Emily gave him a challenging look.

Morgan rolled his eyes, "Oh _please._ Soccer is a man's sport." He stated, matter-of-factly.

"You know, I always knew you were egotistical, but I didn't think that you were sexist too." Emily replied with a tilt of her head. "Maybe I can add that to the list of things that women love about you." She added sarcastically.

The corners of Morgan's mouth tilted upwards in a sly smile, "Let's not bring love lives into this, Em because we both know that I would win."

"Just because you're a _pig_ doesn't meant that you have a better love life than me. I'll have you know that people like me because of my personality, not just because of my looks." Emily gave him a long stare, "Now why don't you move along and start practicing, you're gonna need it." She winked.

"I think that all of _this," _He motioned to her with a large waving of his arms, "is a defense mechanism that you're using because you know that you can't win so you're just lashing out at the competition." He used his profiling skills as a way to insult her.

Emily rolled her eyes dramatically, "You wish."

Morgan shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well then why don't we just let our talent do the talking?" He didn't wait for answer. He immediately turned his back to her and walking over to his team: Hotch, Rossi and Jack. "Alright guys…we have to win. These girls think that they can beat us. We'll just have to teach them a lesson about manhood, right Jack?" He crouched down in front of the boy.

Hotch gulped and hovered near them uneasily wondering if Morgan was teaching Jack the wrong lessons.

"Right!" Jack smiled brightly. He was obviously excited to be able to take part in the game that he'd sat on the sidelines and watched so many times before.

"Alright I have a plan…" Rossi began and then he gathered his team in a tight huddle to explain it. He seemed pretty confident that it was going to work out for them since he had put each of their abilities as a player in consideration. He surprised himself at how into this game he was getting.

Emily, on the other side of the field, approached her own team. "Morgan was just trying to trash talk me! He was trying to get into our heads, but we're not going to let that stop us." She glanced around and then let her gaze rest on JJ, "Alright, Jayje. I say that you tell us what to do because you have the most experience."

"Okay…here's what's gonna happen..." JJ started to explain it with Henry on her hip. He was big enough to play, but she hoped that everyone would at least be decent enough to go easy on him because she was planning to take it easy on Jack anyway.

"Let's get started!" Garcia called from her spot in the middle of the starting circle. She looked at the teams, who both appeared to be in a huddle.

Eventually, after both finished their scheming they dismantled and joined Garcia, surrounding her in the middle of the field where they went over the rules. It was all the simple, basic stuff that they had heard a thousand times before, but still disregarded.

"Now…JJ's team gets to start with the ball." Garcia announced tossing the ball easily over to Emily, who caught it and then gave Morgan a smug grin.

"Wait, why? What about me baby girl?" Morgan asked, shocked. His mouth hung open in surprise.

"Ladies first, hot stuff! And they also have the younger one of the kids on their team so it's only fair that they at least get to start with the ball." Garcia explained and gave him a quick roll of her eyes, "Duh." She stalked off of the field to go take her spot in a chair on the sidelines. This was going to be amusing to watch. She examined the team members.

Emily and Morgan were talking to each other as she approached the starting line with the ball. It most likely the second round of trash talk. Morgan grabbed for the ball, trying to take it from her, but she yanked it out of his reach. Oh how Garcia loved her smoking chocolate thunder and her tough, spunky girlfriend, but they had so much chemistry together. She couldn't help but wonder if she was the only person who saw it.

To their right, JJ was holding Henry's hand and leading him to the place where he should be starting. She gave him a quick pat on the back and a few encouraging words before jogging to her spot on the other side of the field. The blonde liaison looked determined, a fire in her eyes. It was easy for Garcia to see how fierce she must have been during her college soccer years.

Hotch pointed Jack to the place he was supposed to go, across from Henry, and then walked back towards the goal to speak to Rossi one more time. They both kept glancing back at JJ, probably talking about who was going to guard her. Hotch volunteered and that brought a smile to Garcia's face. She could hear everything from her little spot on the sidelines and it was fantastic, well at least for her.

Reid and Rossi were pretty much disengaged. Rossi, because he didn't really care too much about the game at all since his plan for offense really wasn't that relevant at the moment because of JJ's team starting with the ball and Reid, because he was never very good at physical things. They would put in their best effort, but in the end, whatever the result, they would be unconcerned.

It was time to start the game.

Emily set the ball down carefully, keeping eyes on Morgan, as if she thought that he was going to steal it. She stood in front of it with JJ to her far left and Henry to her right while Reid took his spot in the position of goalie.

"I'll take JJ!" Hotch confirmed to his other teammates, running over to stand directly in front of her so that he could block her path to his goal. This was going to be fun.

Morgan stood across from Emily and Jack across from Henry. Rossi would be the goalie for Morgan's team. Everything actually seemed to work out pretty smoothly with the pairs evenly matched in their abilities.

Emily nodded and then gave Morgan a small smile. The first thing she did was, with the back of her heel, kick the ball backwards behind her where JJ, who had swiftly run over from her spot, intercepted the ball going sideways and started dribbling around behind Henry. Her little boy ran along beside her, laughing. She was glad to see that he was having a good time already. She found herself getting closer and closer to the opposing goal, but before she got within scoring distance she realized that a little further down the line, Hotch was blocking her way so she increased her speed to a full speed sprint straight at him, but just before she reached him she passed the ball gently to her left where her son stopped it with the bottom of his small tennis shoe.

No one moved for a few seconds, not even Henry. They were all waiting to see what his move was going to be until finally JJ broke the silence.

"Dribble, buddy. Go towards the goal!" JJ cheered, excitedly. She was, after all, his biggest fan.

Henry gave his mom a sideways glance, nodded and then took off with the ball, making sure to keep it in front of him. He dribbled easily past Morgan, who had pretended to trip as he ran by.

JJ laughed; happy that her son could have a moment to shine. She walked past Hotch and watched her son travel towards the goal, but Jack was standing in his pathway, blocking Henry from being able to score.

Hotch bit his lip a little bit anxiously. He didn't want Jack to ruin this for Henry either. It seemed like such a sweet moment between him and his mom, but as her son approached his, he saw that Jack pretended to try to get the ball from him, but ended up also letting Henry get by and that made Hotch a very proud dad.

Henry ran straight for the goal and then shot it in the left corner. Even if he had tried, JJ was pretty sure that Rossi wouldn't have been able to get to it because he had been standing near the opposite corner of the goal. As he scored, the little boy put his arms in the air and cheered, running up to his mom.

"Mommy! I scored! I scored a goal just like you do." Henry cheered as his mom lifted him off of the ground.

"Yes you did, baby. Great job!"

Hotch smiled and shook his head. "JJ, how are we supposed to have a chance with a player like Henry on your team? This definitely isn't fair." He sighed and put his hands on his hips, pretending to be frustrated.

"Don't worry!" Henry smiled sympathetically at his mom's boss. "My mommy and I will go easy on you next time."

"Oh Henry…I don't even think that will help Uncle Hotch." JJ shook her head and gave Hotch a playful wink. She was really the only person on the team who could joke with Hotch for some reason. Everyone else seemed to be uncomfortable around him, but she…well…she liked being around him. She liked the way he was with kids and victims and the press. And, though she was embarrassed to admit it, he was fairly attractive too. Dark hair and dark eyes…she liked that. On her first day, she remembered how nervous she had been around him, but not around any of the other profilers she'd met; just him. She'd admit…she may have had a small crush on him, but his wife and kids kind of shut that down pretty quickly so she moved on, as for her feelings towards him…well, they never _fully _subsided.

In the very next play of the game, Jack scored a point against JJ's team. No one had really gone too easy on him either, but they also hadn't given it their best effort. He seemed like a really athletic kid, but he was also only 7 years old so it was natural that he could move faster than most of them just because of the age difference alone.

Immediately after the ball zipped past Reid, Morgan approached Emily to brag. It broke into another loud, competitive argument.

Hotch realized that things were getting too heated already, "Alright boys…" He started, looking down at the two kids, "How about you let the adults finish the rest of the game? Does that sound good?"

"Okay!" Henry smiled and ran to the sidelines where JJ and Garcia were talking. He climbed into Garcia's lap happily, knowing that she wouldn't mind. If anything, she was overjoyed to have the young boy join her.

"Oh good, now you'll have a great view of me kicking Uncle Hotch's butt." JJ ruffled her son's messy blond hair and then smiled at Jack who quickly joined Garcia and Henry on the sideline.

Hotch smiled when he heard JJ and walked over to the group. "You really think that you can outrun me?" He joked, but as he received a weird look from Garcia he realized that the only person he joked with was JJ so it must be weird for Garcia to see him acting like this. It was just…whenever she talked to him he felt relaxed, like he didn't have to be the responsible one anymore and he liked that. He liked being the Aaron Hotchner that could actually joke around and have a little bit of fun, but he knew that there was no way that he could always be that way. Someone had to be the leader of their team and that really wasn't something to be taken lightly.

JJ smirked and gave him a quick head to toe examination, "I_ know_ I can outrun you. It's Morgan that I'm worried about."

"Well, that's a slap in the face." Hotch frowned.

Before she could reply she realized that everyone, except her and Hotch were ready to start again so JJ jogged over to join her friend and her son on the starting line. "Do we have a plan on this one?" Emily asked her friend between her teeth, like that would help shield it from the other team, who were standing only a few feet away from them.

"Let's just wing it on this one, Em." JJ shrugged, sure that they would figure something out.

Emily nodded quickly and then started off by kicking it straight to JJ right off the bat, who sighed loudly and gave her friend an incredulous look. She could have at least dribbled it for a second or two and set JJ up for some kind of play, but now she was going to have to figure it all out for herself.

JJ glanced at Hotch, who was standing in front of her with a competitive smile on his face, and then started to make her way backwards towards her own goal, making more distance between them. It was a trick that she had learned during her college years. She turned back to face him and then just waited there, waiting for him to make the first move. Eventually he sprinted at her, eyes on the ball. She side-stepped him with the ball and then immediately started sprinting down the line. She was too fast for Hotch to catch up, but Morgan was coming her way from the side. Luckily that meant Emily was wide open so she easily passed it to her. JJ ran up to the opposite side of the goal and waited for Emily there. As Morgan blocked Emily's path she passed it back to JJ who kicked it powerfully into the goal, making it easily past Rossi.

"Okay…" Hotch said as he walked up to JJ, "You're good…I'll give you that." He was panting.

"You'll give me that?" JJ smiled and hit him playfully on the shoulder. "You better get used to it…because I'm done going easy on you." She teased lightly.

Hotch wiped some sweat off of his face before letting out a few more pants.

JJ raised an eyebrow. "Out of breath?"

"You could say that." Hotch shook his head, "I had no idea that you were that fast JJ. I thought I could catch up, but you were long gone…" He let out a light chuckle.

"Soccer isn't a sport for slow people."

They both laughed.

The rest of the game was pretty uneventful. JJ's team scored three more points and Hotch's team only scored one. This game was coming to an end quickly and it wouldn't be long before they decided to just call it.

On the very last play of the game, Morgan's team had the ball. He was dribbling it down the field towards Emily and JJ made sure to keep a close watch on Hotch who was running down the line evenly with Morgan. Hotch was so concentrated on waiting for his pass that he wasn't even looking forward where he was running. He collided hard with JJ, knocking her to the ground, but using her momentum to catch himself before he fell on top of her.

"Damn it, Hotch." JJ winced and put her hand on her head.

Guilt coursed through him at the sight of her lying there. He should have been watching where he was going. "I'm really sorry, JJ."

Behind them, Morgan and Emily were arguing again.

"That's a foul!" Emily yelled, walking up to Morgan, getting in his face. There was a playful smile on her face, but determination in her eyes.

Morgan stared back down at her defiantly, "No it's not! I believe that JJ was blocking the line which is an illegal move in soccer…" He trailed off, "Or something like that. Point is…it's definitely _not _allowed."

"Maybe you should have your teammates watching where they're going. Or did you tell Hotch to do it on purpose? Trying to sabotage our best player? I can't believe you'd stoop that low, Derek. I never thought you were that insecure." Emily smirked and rolled her eyes.

Morgan shook his head, "Insecure? What gives you the idea that-"

"No Derek, it's okay. Men can be insecure too, I get it. I really do. We understand that you can't handle it anymore and we were ready to stop anyway so don't worry about it. I'll figure out a way that you can repay us." Emily walked off of the field, not giving him room to speak.

"Woah Emily!" Morgan jogged after her.

Hotch felt really bad about all of this. Somewhere deep inside of him he knew that he wouldn't feel this guilty if it was anyone else, but it was her. That was why he felt like the bad guy, that was why he had to wipe his sweaty hand off on his pants before stretching it to help her up and that was why he subconsciously pulled her off of the ground the way he did.

Using the hand he had outstretched she got to her feet, but he had pulled a little more than she had expected making her stumble a little bit and almost fall into him. She caught herself, but their bodies were only inches apart and…neither of them felt uncomfortable. That was the weird thing. Being this close to one another almost felt…natural. They could both feel their coworkers eyes burning into them, but neither of them moved until a few long seconds later.

JJ smiled up at him, "It's okay Aaron. I was just kidding before. It was nothing…girls did worse to me when I was in college, trust me." She stretched a little bit, distancing herself from him.

His heart dropped.

"Alright," Garcia spoke up to break the awkward tension between everyone that was on the field, "I think that's our cue to get on with our lives and go home." She smiled charismatically and gave Henry a goodbye kiss before walking over to Morgan.

JJ moved even further away from Hotch and walked up to her son. "Hey buddy, you ready to get home?" She grinned broadly at him.

"When am I going to daddy's house again?" He asked as he was pulled up into his mother's arms.

JJ gave him a small, half-hearted smile, "Not until Monday."

Henry was still adjusting to having divorced parents. It had happened quickly, almost too quickly for the little boy to understand at all. JJ and Will had always argued a lot, but then one day they both crossed the line…and it was just something that neither of them could get past. It was too personal to forgive and not small enough to forget. By then, to both of them, it was obvious that their relationship wasn't working anymore, but JJ was willing to try to at least temporarily figure things out with Will for Henry's sake. She was willing to give him another chance.

But he left.

One day she came home and he was just gone. There was note left on the kitchen table, but she didn't read it. She had been too angry and heartbroken to even think about looking at it. Will didn't deserve her time. It was strange though because…she knew that she didn't love him, but she also couldn't bear the thought of him leaving either. It made her feel like she wasn't good enough. She tried, at first, to blame Will…for leaving his son, but then after a lot of deep thinking and self examination she realized that it could very well be her own fault. The arguments, the work schedule… never spending time with her family…that was why he left.

That was what was written in the note.

She struggled with that for weeks and she knew the team had noticed it too so she finally just decided that the best and simplest solution was… to let go.

She'd contacted Will and they organized an agreement for him to see his son. He wasn't mad at JJ and she wasn't mad at him. They just weren't in love. That was the core problem and neither of them wanted to be the one holding the other back. She kept contact with Will; she could almost say that they were friends.

Almost.

Henry comprehended everything pretty well after they'd had a talk with him. Will, JJ and Henry all in the same room, talking. They gave him the 'mommy and daddy aren't in love' speech and told him that he would still be able to see the both of them, but it would be separate. He just nodded along without a care in the world, but somehow…they both knew that he understood.

Will met a new woman within a few months. Her name was something like Morgan or Monica, but JJ didn't waste the time to learn it. She couldn't help wondering if their relationship had started before JJ and Will's had ended. It bothered her to think that, but within the last few months that they spent together it had been tense and edgy so she could imagine him needing someone…else. JJ had met whatever her name was once and she had seemed polite, but she didn't like that Henry had two parents in one household and one in the other. If he had to choose which one he liked better…she would rather not think about it. She just didn't want to be replaced by Morgan/Monica as Henry's mom.

JJ waved goodbye to the team and started walking towards her car with her son in her arms. It was a short drive home so Henry managed easily to talk the entire way about how he had scored his goal, but then something caught her ear.

"And then…and then Uncle Hotch said that…that I was almost as good as my mommy! He told me that I had a really good mommy and I told him that Jack had a good daddy. And then he laughed." Henry spoke excitedly.

JJ knew that Henry had a lot of male role models in his life; Will, Reid, Rossi, Morgan and Hotch. So she knew that when Hotch had talked to him that it had meant a lot to the little boy, to be noticed by an adult like Hotch. It brought a smile to her face.

"He laughed?" She asked, still grinning.

Henry nodded, "Yea! He did…it was weird. You said he never laughs."

"He doesn't…normally." _He does when I joke around with him, but…does that really mean anything? Morgan and Garcia joke around, but nothing ever happens with them. Same with Emily and Morgan. But…with him, it's different or I just want it to be different. Maybe it's just because he's older. _She stopped her thoughts from wandering any further.

"Maybe you're just not as funny as me!" Henry cheered arrogantly, throwing his arms in the air. He laughed at himself.

JJ chuckled too, "I'm sure that's it, buddy." She smiled and pulled into their driveway.

They both got out and entered the house together, but ended up going their separate ways. JJ retreated to her room so that she could take a shower and change into some different clothes while her son, without taking a shower, immediately started playing with his toys. She would force him to take a bath later, but after she got out of her shower she laid down on her bed hoping to take a quick power nap. It had only been 5 minutes before her son came bursting through the doors of her bedroom, looking hyper. It was enough to make her groan.

Henry ignored it, "What's for dinner, mommy?" He hopped on to the bed next to her and laid down so that his face was even with hers.

JJ smiled at him and woke herself up a little bit with a yawn, "Well Henry…I'll let you pick. How about…spaghetti, macaroni and cheese or chicken?" She asked, looking at him expectantly. As he contemplated his answer, she glanced up at the hanging clock in the corner of her room. It was almost 7:00. They were eating kind of late tonight, but Henry didn't seem to mind.

"I want…mac and cheese!" Henry exclaimed eagerly. That really was his favorite dish, no matter what the other choices were…if mac and cheese was one of them it would probably be the one that he would pick.

"Alright, well while I get that started, why don't you go clean your toys off of the table, okay?" JJ smiled at her son, knowing that his toys were most likely still covering the table that they were supposed to be eating on.

JJ sulked down the stairs, letting out numerous yawns. She pulled out the pots and pans necessary for making her son's dish, but before she could even turn the stove on, her phone rang…her work phone. With that one ring…her heart immediately dropped. This night that she had been going to enjoy with her son was going to be ruined and for what? Another case, another meeting…another life. She quickly recognized that it was worth it. Saving lives _was_ worth her time. Maybe someday Henry would understand. She reached down without reading the caller ID and pressed the green answer button.

"Agent Jareau." She stated blandly into the phone, hoping that maybe it might have just been someone calling the wrong number, just this once.

"JJ, it's Hotch." His voice was serious and stern so she instantly knew that it was something case-related. "We just received a call about a case and…well…you might just want to come down here and take a look at it for yourself."

"Is it bad?"

There was an uneasy sigh on the other side, "I-ummm…it's not good." He struggled.

JJ noticed his struggle. This had to be bad to shake him up like that. She let out her own sigh, but it was more of an 'I don't want to come in right now' sigh, "Okay I'll be there in 15 minutes." She hung up and started getting dressed in her work clothes. As she pulled the pencil skirt up to her waist and tucked in her flannel shirt, she wondered what the case was about. It had to be urgent for them to be called in on a weekend. She was thinking maybe missing kids, a hostage situation or maybe even a bomb threat.

She had no idea how wrong she actually was.

It only took a few minutes after she was done getting ready for her to call the baby sitter that always looked after Henry. It was a college girl named Taylor, who was always available because she lived across the street from JJ and Henry. She informed Taylor to make her son macaroni and cheese for his dinner so at least that wouldn't be ruined by JJ leaving. She could trust that the teenager would take care of that for her.

"Mommy, where are you going?" Henry had noticed his mother getting ready.

JJ's heart ached. She wanted, more than anything, to stay home with him, make him his macaroni and cheese and spend time together, "I have to go to work again, sweetie. I'm so sorry that I couldn't stay home with you tonight."

"It's okay, mommy!" Henry hugged his mom quickly. "I hope you find the bad guy!"

JJ smiled at her son's understanding. "We will, sweetheart."

"Oh! And tell all of them I said hi! Oh, oh! And tell Uncle Hotch that I said…ummm…" Henry struggled to think of a message to give Hotch, "Tell him that I said good luck." He couldn't seem to come up with anything better than that.

"Okay, I will. I have to go Henry, but I love you buddy and I'll try and make it back before you go to daddy's house." JJ smiled warmly, gave her son a kiss on the forehead, walked out of her house and made the short drive down to the BAU.

As she pushed the double doors open, everyone's heads seemed to turn. They were all down in the pit of offices standing/sitting near Morgan's desks. All of their eyes were trained on her. She knew that they profiling her for some reason. It was peculiar. She distantly remembered a rule being made that team members were not allowed to profile each other, but she didn't mention it.

Something was wrong.

"Ummm…Hotch?" JJ was desperate to talk to someone, instead of being on the receiving end of all these observant stares. "What's going on?" She tried to keep her voice still, but she felt like there was something really wrong.

Hotch walked towards her with cold, empty eyes. He was detached, trying not to have emotions again like he always did when something was close to him. This case was personal, but who? Was it related to one of them? She glanced around, but they all still seemed to be watching her and only her. She could feel her heart beat speeding up in her chest.

Morgan set one of the three case files that he had been holding down on the desk in front of her.

The front of the file instantly threw her off. The papers shook slightly in her hands as she read the name on the front. It made her stomach churn in sickness. Not because of the blood or the bodies that she knew were inside, but only because of the feeling of familiarity that she had. She knew who this man was, she knew what he was capable of, they even lived under the same roof…oh god…she felt like she was going to start throwing up, but instead she pushed it down and swallowed hard. All she could think to do was close her eyes so that she could at least escape from everyone's concerned gazes for a few seconds. She thought that those few seconds would be all she would need to pull herself together, but as she set the file down without even so much as opening it to look at the pictures or read the information inside she knew that this was too much for her. It was too much to pull herself together in that short amount of time. Her stomach rolled another time and she shook her head, opened her eyes and darted to the bathroom.

The file read:

**Michael Charles Jareau.**

Her father.

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**"So this was betrayal. It was like being left alone in the desert at dusk without water or warmth. It left your mouth dry and will broken. It sapped your tears and made you hollow."**

Anna Godbersen

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**A/N: **So this is my newest story. I've already written a couple other chapters too so the updating might be quick at first, depending on the reviews and how much I work on my other stories. I hope everyone likes this! Don't forget to review! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."**

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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After she left it was silent. No one knew if they should follow her or if they should just wait it out. JJ, on one hand was a compassionate, reasonable person, but on the other she was extremely private which could potentially cloud her judgment. That could have very well been one of those times that she wanted to be alone with her thoughts, but she might have also needed some help. There was always comfort in knowing that someone cared. None of the specially trained FBI profilers could make a decision about this.

The air was thick with the tension of their uncertainty.

"I'm gonna go see if she's okay." Hotch was the first to speak. His voice was deep with emotion and there was sympathy in his deep brown eyes. JJ always cared for others, so _he_ wanted to be there for _her_, especially when it involved her family. He _was_, after all, the only person on the team who remotely knew anything about her family life.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Emily asked, stepping in front of him. She met his concerned eyes with her own defiant ones. "No offense, but I think if she's sick right now she might feel more comfortable with another woman."

More silence.

Hotch came to his senses and pushed his personal opinion aside. "Y-you're right. Yea, you go Emily. Make sure she's okay." He nodded and then turned back towards the case file. He read the name on the cover again. It was really unfair that this had to be her family, especially since she always kept it so private. With this case they were going to have to look, no more like _dig_ into her life. He knew for her it would be rough, but hopefully she would accept help because they were all definitely willing to offer it.

As Emily reached the bathroom door she could already hear the loud sound of JJ coughing on the other side. It became louder once she walked in, "JJ? Are you alright?"

The only response she got was more coughing.

Emily could see JJ's high heels outside one of the stalls and sure enough, she could see JJ's knees on the ground inside the very same stall that her shoes were outside of. Emily found herself not sure what to do, but what she did know was that she couldn't leave her friend in that bathroom alone so she hopped up and sat down on the countertop. "I'm here…when you're ready." She informed her quietly only to hear more coughs coming from the stall. She silently wondered how much more JJ could take with her petite body, she was sure it wasn't a lot. Hopefully, she would be done soon.

_Please God, let it be done soon. _Emily prayed, closing her eyes for a few seconds.

Thankfully, JJ was finished a few minutes later, but after the coughing had stopped Emily heard JJ cleaning herself up before coming out. That took a few more minutes, but then the door finally swung open to reveal a very distraught looking woman. Her face was pale and her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying.

"You didn't have to come." She glanced at Emily before walking up to the sink and splashing some water on her face. It didn't seem to help her mood much she still had a dull look on her face.

"You're right, I didn't, but I wanted to..." Emily turned around so that she was looking at JJ in the mirror, "Are you okay?" She tried to meet her eyes, but JJ kept her gaze down at the sink.

JJ let out a quick sigh, "I'm fine." She looked up and met Emily's eyes. That was what alerted Emily to how JJ was really feeling. Her eyes told a completely different story from what she had said. There was pain and grief radiating in the eyes that were once a sweet, compassionate blue.

"Are you? I know you how you must be feeling right now…" Emily started, but JJ cut her off.

"How could you possibly know? You have no right to say anything like that to me." There was a short pause, "I understand your concern, but I don't appreciate it." JJ spat the last part quickly. That really wasn't like her, she seemed uncharacteristically irritable. It must be a little bit more serious then Emily had thought before.

Emily didn't seem fazed by her sudden anger. She looked over at her, "You can talk to me, Jayje. You don't have to do this alone. I know that you don't think you need help, but everyone does. You need us…pushing people away isn't going to work this time. So why don't you just let me in?" She wasn't sure how JJ was going to react. She was half-expecting the woman to yell or maybe even do the complete opposite and apologize for what she had said before. Either way, at least it would help JJ get her emotions out.

She didn't do either of them.

Without a word, a look or any kind of acknowledgement of what Emily had just said, JJ side stepped her and made her way out of the bathroom. The way that she forcefully pushed the door open gave Emily the impression that she was angry, but there was no way for her to be completely sure.

She just left.

Which left Emily standing there in shock, silent. She wondered vainly what she did wrong; it was probably mentioning that she knew how JJ felt. She had been trying to empathize and JJ knew that they were supposed to do that with victims. Emily remembered that JJ hated being treated like a victim, feeling vulnerable and that was exactly what Emily had done…she had made her feel vulnerable.

It took her a few moments to compose herself before she exited the bathroom. As she turned down the hallway and joined the rest of the team again, she noticed that JJ wasn't with them and neither was Hotch.

"Didn't go well?" Morgan asked Emily sarcastically as she walked up.

Emily gave a small nod, "Was it that obvious?" She asked letting out a long sigh. "I really tried, but I think this is more then it seems. There's something else there…and she won't open up. You know how she is; privacy is everything."

"But to what extent?" Reid was biting his lip and had a faraway look in his eyes, thinking profoundly about his friend. He was worrying deeply for her because he knew what it was like to see a parent differently, and not in a good way.

No one answered his question, no one could.

Emily looked around again, "Where'd Hotch go?"

"He went after her." Rossi told her and they all stared at the door as if they expected both of them to come bursting back in, ready to work on this case.

They didn't.

JJ had stormed directly outside, her face red with anger. She wasn't exactly sure what she was angry at though. Maybe it was Emily, but she was pretty sure she was just mad at the world. Outside it was raining heavily and the air was moist. She didn't care about getting wet; she walked directly out into the rain and walked in the direction of her car. Her father…when she thought about him she almost instantly flashed back into a memory from her childhood.

_A young JJ, about 10 years old, had been reading one of her summer reading books in her room. It was a rainy day that was really the only reason she had started reading, also because she was always an over-achiever in school. It was something that she was proud of. The only noises she could hear from where she was sitting was the pounding of the rain against her window and the faint noise of her dad watching TV down stairs, it was probably a football game. _

_Suddenly a door downstairs opened and slammed shut with a loud bang. Someone had just entered the house. She could also hear the sound of high heels clunking against their hardwood floor and she knew it had to be her sister._

_Without even starting off talking in a normal voice, she could hear her sister immediately start yelling at her dad. The sound of the TV stopped; it must have been paused or turned off. Her father yelled back. What they were saying, JJ couldn't tell because they were muffled under the sound of rain._

_It'd been tense around the house ever since their mom had decided to "take a break" for a while from her father and the family as she put it. None of the children had known why, but later they would come to find out._

_The yelling back and forth between them distracted JJ from the book that she was reading. She strained to hear what they were saying, but it was impossible due to the rainfall. Every now and then she would catch a few words: Mom was a recurring one. The raining started to stop and the voices became clearer, but before she had the chance to hear anything important her door swung open to reveal her brother. He was 14 and had dirty blonde hair with green eyes, just like their father. He walked in and shut the door behind him. _

_"They're yelling again." He commented with a sigh, "What do you think it's about this time?" He sat down on her bed and stared vacantly at the door. _

_"Mom." JJ answered without looking at her brother. After she said it, she felt his eyes burning into her. _

_"What?" There was disbelief in his voice. He was her older brother; he never believed anything that his little sister said. "No they aren't."_

_"Maybe if you'd be quiet we'd be able to figure it out!" JJ exclaimed quickly, irritated with him. Their yelling was still going on so they could still catch the ending if they shut up now._

_Her brother didn't make a sound. _

_They only heard one thing, the last thing. It was from their father._

_"What's the point of this? Why does it matter how she left? The point is that she did leave and you know what? She hasn't called or come by to check on you kids at all. Do you know what that means? She doesn't care and she's not coming back. Not now, not next year, not ever!" He yelled, loud enough for everyone in the house to hear every word. _

_Both JJ and her brother, Cole sat in complete silence. _

_Tears slid down JJ's cheeks, her mom was never coming back? To a 10-year-old, that was devastating news that she couldn't handle. She tried not to alert her brother to how she was feeling, but he somehow he seemed to know. Family intuition, maybe._

_Cole walked over and got to his knees in front of her so that he could make eye contact. "Jen, don't cry. We're still a family. Sarah, Travis and I are all here and so is dad. Everything's going to be fine, I promise." He wrapped her into a protective hug. _

_JJ felt a little bit better after hearing that and the tears stopped soon after. She sniffed a couple more times and then pulled away from her brother. "Thanks Cole."_

_Cole opened his mouth to answer, but the door swung open again before he could. _

_Sarah rushed in, she had long blonde hair and their father's striking green eyes, but as she burst through the door she looked distraught. She trudged past JJ's bed and into her dresser, getting out some clothes and stuffing them into the duffle bag that she had carried in. "We're leaving." That was the only thing she told them, not why or where they were going, just that they were. _

_"What? I'm not." Cole stood back up and faced his older sister. He was almost as tall as her. They stood directly across from each other, making direct eye contact. They both looked very angry. "You can't just leave whenever you want to, Sarah." He added, shaking his head. After hearing that his mom was gone, he probably didn't want any of his other family members going away too._

_Sarah rolled her eyes and walked past him, "Fine you can stay. Just tell Travis that JJ and I are leaving. We're staying…somewhere else for a little bit. If he wants to know where, I have my cell." She slung the duffle bag over her shoulder. _

_"Why don't you let Jenny decide? You just assume that she's completely okay with all of this." Cole pointed out. _

_"Are you okay with this JJ?" _

_Suddenly they were both staring down at her. She felt enormous pressure, but she didn't let it change what she wanted to do. "I'm going with Sarah." She stated, confidently. Her sister was her role-model and whether she was aware of it or not, she followed her every move._

_"There. Now get lost." Sarah smirked a little bit at Cole and then held out a hand to JJ, who took it. They walked down the stairs together and walked towards the front door. Their father had been sitting on the couch when he saw them heading for the door. _

_"Where do you think you're going?" He stood up and marched angrily towards them. _

_Sarah yanked the front door open, "We're leaving." She walked out before he could get in another word and started walking hastily towards her car. _

_Their father came out after them, yelling. He was telling them to stop and not to do this, but they both ignored him and climbed into the car together. Her sister backed out of the drive way swiftly. They drove down the street away from their house and father, but neither of them looked back. _

_"I'm sorry about all of that, JJ. You're too young to get it yet…but someday, maybe you will." Sarah smiled a little bit and glanced at her younger sister. "I'm really proud of you for standing up to Cole today. That was great."_

_ JJ smiled too, but it quickly faded as a question surfaced in her mind. "I heard what dad said…" Before her sister could react she continued, "Is mom ever going to come back?"_

_"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out because…I'm not sure if dad was telling the truth or not." Sarah let out a long, heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, JJ. I wish I had more answers for you."_

_There was a short pause, "Why do you call me JJ?" She smiled a little bit, "How did you come up with that?"_

_Her sister shrugged, "It suits you. You're tough and abbreviations are a lot more hardcore." She smiled, "I just felt like there should be something that you and I have together, something that we can share…like a nickname." _

_"Well I like it."_

JJ blinked, having not even realized that she had stopped in the middle of the parking lot...in the pouring rain. Her car was a few yards away, but it didn't matter…she was already soaked. Before she could actually reach her car and get out of the rain, she felt a wet hand grab onto her wrist.

Adrenaline coursed through her. She was taught to be suspicious as a first reaction, but when she whipped around she realized that it was just Hotch. Her eyes met his, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking. He didn't say anything; he just stared at her, with an intense, but void gaze.

"I'm not in the mood, Hotch." JJ told him, able to hear the anger in her own voice. It was the truth though, she really didn't want to talk or associate with anyone, even him, right now. She ripped her wrist out of his grasp forcefully and then turned back towards her car again. As she started to walk away from him she felt his hand grab her arm a second time.

When she turned around this time JJ was only met by the same stare that he had given her before. She glanced down and saw that he was soaking wet to the point that he was dripping. She felt water seeping into her own clothes, but she didn't look down. Instead, her gaze drifted up to meet his again and she felt his gaze burning into her, like he was reading her thoughts through her eyes.

She wanted to shrink.

With him staring so unwaveringly into her eyes, she wanted to walk away…to break the eye contact, but she knew that he would just stop her for a third time…so she stared back, hoping that her gaze was just as steady as his seemed to be.

Hotch opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but he paused before it came out. He squeezed her arm a little bit and then tried again, "JJ…I'm sorry." That was all he ended up saying to her and he practically had to yell because the sound of rain hitting the concrete was so overwhelmingly loud.

But that wasn't what hit home for her, it was the fact that he had followed her in the pouring rain and stopped her and even when she had told him to go away, he had stopped her again. He really cared and that gave her comfort, it warmed her heart. Tears slid down her face and she was glad that it was raining so that he couldn't see, but when she met his eyes she could tell that he knew.

He let go of her arm and took a step towards her, wrapping his arms around her.

She wrapped her arms around him too, letting more tears fall. Being in his arms felt right, it made her feel safe.

It was weird, out of all the team members; JJ's relationship with Hotch was the most mysterious. She never really knew where she stood with him. One moment they could be joking like they were actually friends and in another he could be talking to her in the condescending boss tone that she hated.

But in that moment, with his arms around her, it was different.

_He _was different.

And it was the only thing that gave her the confidence not to run and to go back inside to face whatever this was. Just knowing that he would be by her side made it seem all the more approachable to her. She could face this, but she knew that it would be hard. Privacy was going to be disregarded and she would have to go back to remember things that she had tried so hard to forget.

Hotch pulled away from her and looked into her eyes once again. She could tell that he saw, beyond her shadow of doubt, the new determination and confidence that she was willing to put forth. So he nodded down at her, took her hand and led her back into the BAU. As they walked through the doors, simultaneously they disconnected their hands.

* * *

**"Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that's what makes you strong."**

Sarah Dessen


	3. Chapter 3

**"Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love**."

John Steinbeck

* * *

He understood the way that she was feeling. He understood that she liked to be private and keep her family affairs to herself. He understood why she was so proud and protective of her feelings. He understood, he really did.

But what he failed to understand was why, at seeing her father's case file, did she not defend him or claim that it was all some sort of mistake? The basic behavior of someone in her situation is for that person to deny their family's involvement in the matter or at least ask some questions to clarify what was going on and what was happening.

She did neither.

The only normal reaction that she did have was to get sick, but Reid got the feeling that she wasn't surprised. She knew something…she knew what this was about.

Whether she was going to admit it or not, that was completely up to her.

All Reid knew was that, whatever her decision was, he wouldn't speak against her and he would respect it…even if it was against the law. He watched as she approached the case file again, the look in her eye was of complete terror like she was afraid of what might be in it.

Hotch was standing behind her, a protective look in his eye. He watched her closely to make sure that she wouldn't try to leave again.

She picked it up, but still failed to open it. "I'll meet you in the conference room for briefing after I…look through it." Her eyes drifted up towards her office and it was obvious to everyone that she wanted and deserved to be alone while looking through it.

Reid himself still hadn't opened it yet either. The rest of the team decided to gather in the conference room early to discuss what to do about JJ. No one had to say or suggest the meeting; all of them just knew that it had to be done. While everyone else was discussing her, Reid sat down and read the file without knowing that a couple of rooms over, JJ was doing the exact same thing.

**_Michael Brad Jareau_**

Reid still couldn't believe it. How could a father who had brought up the brilliant woman that was JJ, do something like this?

The first paper was a report that stated, how, why and where Michael Jareau had been arrested. They had been investigating the murders of two blonde women in their twenties and not surprisingly, that was the most murder that JJ's small hometown had ever seen. Michael Jareau was their first lead because one of the victims had been in contact with him for a job offer before she'd gone missing and after they brought him in they found out he had been in touch with the second victim as well. They didn't have enough evidence to really hold him until the next day when they got DNA results from underneath one of the victim's fingernails. That was enough to make the arrest. It had taken place in the house that JJ had grown up in. That was brutal.

The next two documents were about each of the victims and how they had died. They were each blonde haired and in their late 30s. Apparently the both of them had been beaten, raped and then strangled. And both times in that exact order.

_Jareau is fully denying everything to the extent that he has not yet requested a lawyer to be present during the interrogation. He seems very messy and tired. Talks a lot about his ex-wife and children, but in a way that makes it seem like there's more to the matter. He's holding information, but we can't figure out what it is. Also, years after Sarah Jareau committed suicide there are no records of Jareau's wife, Sally. _

_Contacted Cole and Travis Jareau, but both have failed to show up in defense of their father. _

As Reid finished the file and looked up he saw that JJ was walking across the catwalk towards the conference room with the file in her arms. He wondered if she had actually read it or not, but as he noticed the crooked papers sticking out of it he knew that she had.

"Okay…" JJ sighed heavily as she walked in-Hotch's eyes lifted from the table as she walked in-and she sat down at the table in between Reid and Hotch. Both men turned to look at her, concerned, but she didn't seem to notice…or at least she pretended that she didn't.

"I read it and…" JJ paused, opening the file and scanning it a second time, "I know the victims…both of them." She shook her head, "The first was my mom's hairdresser. I know that may sound weird, but a girl and her hairdresser is a serious relationship. The second was my roommate in college, we were pretty close. She was pre-med."

Garcia took that as a cue to start, "Well…for those of you who don't know, the first victim was Elaine Ricketts. She was, as our beautiful doe-eyed colleague already pointed out, a hairdresser, but with this economy she was laid off of her job and reduced to being a waitress. Michael Jareau owned a small restaurant and she applied there. A week later she was found in a ditch, beaten, raped and strangled. No one had even reported her missing."

Reid, out of the corner of his eyes, saw JJ's gaze rest on the table. She shook her head ever so slightly, probably sad that no one had even reported that poor girl missing. It was always saddening to hear that no one even took the time to wonder where a victim had gone.

"The second victim," Garcia started clicking a few buttons so that the pictures of the second victim would pop up, "is Kailee Luna." She glanced uncomfortably at JJ, knowing that they were friends. "She was a local doctor, Michael Jareau's doctor to be exact. Apparently he was having some health issues that required him to stay in touch and for her to make house calls."

"What was wrong with him?" Morgan asked, looking up at Garcia skeptically. He was assuming that JJ's dad had made his illness up as a ruse to get Kailee to come to his house and trust him.

"Chronic Bronchitis." Garcia answered effortlessly.

JJ cut in for confirmation, "He did have that. It was really bad when I was a kid." She said with a small sigh. At least that wasn't a lie, but he did use it to lure in one of her best college friends and kill her. He knew her too; there was no way that he couldn't have met her. They had done everything together.

"So what could've been his stressor?" Morgan asked, twisting his pencil between his fingers. He tried not to look at JJ, knowing that she didn't like their attention at times like this, but right now they really needed her insight on the matter.

"My mother's funeral was a couple of months ago." JJ said casually.

Everyone looked confused. She hadn't mentioned it to them at all, none of them had even known that her mother died.

Reid glanced down at the case file, "But here it says that there is no record of a Sally Jareau since 1991." He looked at JJ for some sort of explanation.

"She changed her name to Sally Lexington, but they never really got a divorced. She just changed her name and that was what she was buried as." JJ told all of them, her voice dull with the slightest hint of sadness.

"Did you-" Emily started to ask.

JJ cut her off, "No. My mom left when I was 9 and I never knew why, but a couple of years after my sister died we found out that she died too. I guess they didn't schedule her service until this year, something about how she wanted to be buried with her own mother who didn't die until now."

They all nodded, now sort of understanding. It still seemed like there was more to the story again, either that she was holding from them, or that she herself didn't even know. It was possible that it was a little bit of both.

"I'm so sorry, gumdrop." Garcia added quickly.

"Don't be." JJ didn't look up. Her eyes were still scanning over her case file, but it didn't seem to look like she was looking for something. In reality, she was just using it as an excuse so that she didn't have to look anyone in the eyes.

"So the funeral was the stressor, but what was the trigger…what started it all in the first place? Why, all of a sudden, did he start killing?" Reid pondered out loud to his team mates.

"That's what we need to find out." Hotch spoke hurriedly, "Wheels up in 20."

Everyone got up to leave.

"JJ, can I talk to you for a minute?" Hotch asked while making his way over to her.

She had known this was coming so she didn't even protest. It was predictable for at least one of them to want to see how she was doing and she knew exactly what they wanted her to say so she would say it. She shut her case file, "Okay."

They waited a couple of seconds for the rest of the team to clear out of the conference room.

"Two things." Hotch started, "First I just want you to know that you don't have to do this. If you want to talk to your family and figure things out with your dad you can, but if you do decide to do that we can't give you details about the case anymore. You either have to be with us or without us. You can't be neutral, okay?"

"Yea." JJ gave him a quick nod. She didn't have to think about it too much, "I'm in."

"That's what I thought you'd say." Hotch gave her a subtle smile, "So that leads me to my second thing. If we're going to be investigating this, not only are we going to need your help and cooperation, but we also need to talk to you siblings. It seems that the police department has tried to get into touch with them, but can't seem to get a hold of them. So the moment we land in Pittsburgh you and Reid are in charge of tracking them down."

"I can do it by myself." She insisted stubbornly.

Hotch shook his head, "Reid's going with you JJ. Unless you'd rather me go with you myself." The corners of his mouth turned upwards ever so slightly in amusement. It was unusual for him to tease during cases, but it came out so easily that he couldn't stop it.

"I wouldn't mind that so much." The words came out smoothly, effortlessly. She smiled at him and picked up her case file before walking out of the room. Neither of them knew where that had come from, but truthfully neither of them minded that much either.

Hotch watched her walk away and he could feel his eyebrows creasing. He was worried about her, no matter how much she tried to push her "I'm fine" attitude on him, he wouldn't believe it. He knew that she could be fragile, everyone is vulnerable sometimes. _Everyone. _That was why he was sending Reid with her. She didn't need her boss/friend-whatever coming with her to complicate things. What she needed was a good, close friend to keep her grounded. And Reid would do that.

He walked out of the conference room and to his office. He packed up all of his things slowly; always comfortable being the last one to leave so that he could make a sweep through the offices and make sure everyone else was gone. Usually they were, but today, as he walked past JJ's office and glanced in, he realized that she was still there. He stopped dead in his tracks and watched her for a few seconds. She appeared to be looking down at her desk, at something on it. He knocked quietly before walking in.

"The plane's almost about to leave." He reported, sneaking a glance down at her desk. He saw a fuzzy case that was probably used to hold jewelry. The necklace. He saw that it was around her neck again. She was holding it between her fingers. He met her eyes.

She only nodded, shut the case, and picked up her bag.

They walked out together, in silence. It seemed that she was in a somber state, probably remembering her sister so Hotch didn't want to disrupt it. They boarded the plane, put their bags away and then sat down in two of the vacant seats. They were across the aisle from each other and Hotch was glad that he could keep an eye on her.

The plane ride was extremely short compared to some of the others they'd been on, probably only because they were traveling from Virginia to Pennsylvania. It wasn't a significant distance, really.

When they landed, Hotch made sure to go over everything again before everyone got off. "Emily and Rossi you're going to visit the dumpsites, Morgan and I are going to set up at the station and then go down to JJ's house, and Reid and JJ you are going to find her siblings. Everybody got it?"

"Clear as day." Emily smirked and climbed off of the plane.

JJ smiled a little bit as she followed, Emily's sarcastic comments always had a way of making her day just a little bit better. She appreciated them, especially now. They walked across the private tarmac together and then split off in their pairs once they got to the parking lot.

JJ glanced back at Reid, who gave her a small, but encouraging smile.

When they reached the car she got in the driver's seat while he got into the passenger's. They sat in silence for a few brief moments before Reid looked at her with gentle, but focused eyes.

"So we're in charge of your siblings right? How many others do you have?" Reid asked inquiringly, he barely knew anything about her family. She never seemed to share those kinds of things openly with the team like everyone else. He wasn't sure why, but he was sure that with this case he would find out.

"I have two older brothers and they both live in Pennsylvania. My brother Cole lives just outside Harrisburg and my other, oldest brother, Travis lives in Mansfield." JJ let out a sigh and backed out of the parking space.

Reid was going over the map of Pennsylvania in his head when she spoke again.

"You know what that means don't you?"

"It takes exactly 4 hours and 25 minutes by car to Harrisburg if you go the speed limit and from Harrisburg it takes 4 hours and 10 minutes to get to Mansfield." Reid told her, "So that basically means we're going to be driving all night and we'll probably have to stay in a hotel somewhere overnight."

"Travis' house is big. We can probably just stay there, if you're okay with that."

"I am if he is."

"Well you made that a lot more confusing than it needed to be." JJ smiled a little bit and started the 4 hour and 25 minute drive to Cole's house. It was mostly silent between them except for the faint sound of the radio, but neither of them minded.

Reid loved the silence. As they drove along, he observed his surroundings, thought about the case and even started to think about JJ and her life. He didn't want to be curious and nosy, but it was human nature…or at least that's what he tried to tell himself as he turned to her, "JJ?"

"Hmmm?" JJ seemed to be absorbed in her own thoughts.

He hesitated, but went ahead with his question anyway. "Why don't you ever talk about your family?" He watched her reaction closely.

The only problem was…that she didn't react. It was like she had expected him to ask her that question and had even prepared a practiced reaction for it.

Her answer was less rehearsed, it sounded more natural, more like JJ.

"It brings back memories that I don't necessarily like being reminded of." She was quiet, her voice gentle.

Reid paused, mentally kicking himself for even asking the question in the first place. But then he realized that he could relate, "I know the feeling." He spoke of his mother and father and that little boy, Riley, that had died in his hometown.

For a moment, just a moment JJ took her eyes off the road and looked into his eyes. Her crystal clear blue eyes gave him a very clear message: _I'm sorry about all of that, Spence._

The warmth and compassion he saw in them is where he got the "Spence" in the message from. And he appreciated it. He appreciated that, while her family was going through something this terrible, she was still concerned with him and his feelings.

"If you ever want to talk though, ever…I'm here for you." Reid looked at her, but her eyes were on the road again and she didn't give him an answer.

Silence filled the vehicle.

Another hour passed without another word being spoken.

"Why do you think your brothers aren't coming on their own?" Reid asked her, curiously. Once again he had let his curiosity get the best of him, but someone was going to ask her sooner or later. It was better coming from him then someone else.

JJ kept her eyes on the road; he noticed her grip on the steering wheel tighten. "I don't know." It was a blatant lie and he could tell. Unfortunately for her, Reid was a profiler and noticed the key things that indicated a lie.

This time, he couldn't let it slip. "I'm a profiler Jayje, I know you're lying. I just don't know why."

"And you don't need to know." JJ snapped, but it looked like she immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, Reid…" The guilt in her voice was clear, but he also noticed that she didn't call him Spence. She only called him by his last name when she wasn't comfortable.

Reid nodded slowly, staring at the road stretching out in front of them. "I'm sorry too," he muttered, "I understand that you don't want to talk about it."

JJ gave him a small nod which left an awkward silence between them for the next 30 minutes of the drive. Finally, they drove down a few seemingly unused roads until she pulled into the driveway of a light blue house. It was nice and pleasant, but not completely awe-inspiring. It had two stories and a large yard space in the back for kids and pets to play in. Suburban was the perfect word to describe it.

"What does your brother do?" Reid wondered aloud as he scanned the house.

JJ stepped out of the car as he did the same. They walked towards the house and she answered, "He's only a government contractor, but his wife is a lawyer so with their combined income it's actually a pretty good amount of money…especially for having three young kids."

"Kids?"

"Yep, two girls and a boy: Heather, Skye and Pierce." JJ's face lit up a little bit at the prospect of seeing her nieces and nephews, "They're adorable." She added, her eyes clouding a little as she stared up at the house.

Reid smiled a little bit too. "How old are they?"

"Heather is 7, Skye is 5 and Pierce is 3." JJ explained to Reid as she took a few more steps towards the porch. She was walking slowly, almost like she was dreading what was going to come.

"Wow they _are_ young."

JJ nodded and shrugged, "Well Cole is 33 and his wife is 34 so they're at a good age for this. All the kids are really sweet though, I know you'll love them." She chuckled lightly and then smiled a little bit. Her mood brightened quickly like it always did when she talked about kids. It made Reid happy to see her happy.

They stepped onto the porch together, but Reid let JJ do the knocking because it was her brother's house after all.

They stood out there for a few minutes until finally the door was pulled open to reveal a young woman, a little bit younger than them. She had shiny brown hair and striking green eyes. Reid would admit that she was pretty, but he also assumed that she was Cole's wife.

The woman squinted, "JJ?" She asked with a surprised look on her face.

JJ gave her a small nod and smiled. "Emma, it's so great to see you. It's been so long!" She stepped forward and hugged Emma quickly, rubbing her back lightly. It was awkward for Reid…he tried not to intrude.

The woman, Emma grinned as they pulled away. "Well we know you've been busy with your job and all. How's that going, by the way? I heard you got a promotion to the state department, that's great JJ!" She exclaimed.

JJ smirked a little and shrugged, "That was two years ago and it did have shorter hours, but I really missed my old team that I had worked with before so I went back to the BAU." She nodded and glanced at Reid.

"And how's Henry?"

JJ's eyes brightened and she smiled, "He just turned 6 so…" She shrugged and trailed off, letting the age speak for itself.

"Oh gosh. Toddler years are so hard sometimes, but I know with a mom like you he'll get through it. Maybe you can bring him up here sometime, I'm sure my kids would love to meet him. I mean, they love you enough." She rolled her eyes, grinning. "And how's Will?"

JJ shook her head, "Will and I…aren't together anymore. He didn't like the work hours so we decided to just have joint custody right now. We alternate weekends…and I'll admit it's not bad. Henry needs his dad, but I don't so it really does work out."

Emma nodded and gave her a sympathetic smile. Her green eyes drifted over to Reid and she smiled, "And who is this?" She stepped towards him.

"This," JJ gestured to Reid, "is one of my team members: Dr. Spencer Reid. He's a genius and a little bit of a dork, but it's adorable so that's why we keep him around." She smiled back at Reid and winked, chuckling a little bit.

"Hello. Nice to meet you." Reid held out his hand and she shook it.

Emma smiled at the both of them, "Well Cole is just inside so why don't you two come in?" She walked into the house, gesturing for them to follow. "How bad was the drive?"

"It was…" JJ glanced back at Reid.

Reid met her eyes, "3 hours and 50 minutes because JJ was speeding like crazy."

"Impressive…" Emma smiled back at him and led them into the living room, nodding to the couch. "Sit." She insisted. Their living room had a pleasant, welcoming feeling to it with large open windows that allowed sunlight to shine inside. It was a place that could make anyone feel at home. There was a small brunette girl sitting down in front of the coffee table in between the chairs and couches. She was playing with some small dolls. From what Reid could tell, she was approximately 5 or 6 so he assumed that she was probably the girl named Skye.

Her eyes drifted up as she heard them enter. She had her mother's eyes, emerald-green. "Aunt JJ!" She exclaimed, springing up out of her spot on the ground and running over to JJ. It didn't surprise Reid that her niece liked her so much; children were usually attracted to her, she was just one of those people. He took a seat awkwardly on the couch as JJ and her niece walked over too.

JJ took a seat next to him with her niece sitting closely next to her, watching her every move with huge eyes like she was some kind of idol. It was probably because JJ didn't come around much anymore…that was what Reid had to assume.

"Would you two like anything to drink or eat?" Emma asked, sending a glance towards the kitchen.

JJ shook her head, "I'm fine…thank you."

"So am I." Reid answered with a small smile. He glanced in the direction of JJ only to see someone staring at him out of the corner of his eyes…Skye's eyes were directly on him. The green orbs were filled with curiosity. Who was he? What was he doing in her house? He didn't know what to do so he just gave her a reluctant smile, which she returned with her own smile.

"Skye…" JJ cut in, seeing their slight interaction. "This is my friend, Spencer."

"Hi Spencer!" Skye smiled brightly now that they were properly introduced and she at least had a little bit of an idea as to who he was.

Emma laughed and shook her head at her child, "I'll go see where Cole is." She walked off.

A few minutes after she left another kid came racing down the stairs, a second girl. She looked a little bit older than Skye. This one had to be Heather. She looked surprised to find a few adults in her living room, but recovered quickly once she recognized JJ.

"Aunt JJ?" Heather smiled and walked over, giving her a quick hug.

"Heather, wow…look at you. You're getting so big, what grade are you in now?" JJ asked, brushing some of the extra strands of hair out of the girls face. She had icy blue eyes, a little bit more faded blue than JJ's were.

"Second grade!" Heather exclaimed and then she too, noticed Reid's unfamiliar face. "Who's this?" She stood in front of Reid and smiled, politely.

This time JJ let him do his own introduction, "I'm Spencer, a friend of your aunt's." He grinned at the girl. She was adorable, both of them were.

"I'm Heather." She smiled and then sat down in one of the open chairs across from them. "Are you here to see my daddy?" She asked, her eyes returning to JJ again.

JJ nodded, "Yes we are."

"For what?"

"Just a little bit of boring stuff, nothing you kids would want to hear about. You know, Heather, your dad told me that you've just started playing soccer?" JJ raised an eyebrow.

"Yep!"

"Did he tell you that I played soccer when I was your age?" JJ grinned, her pride radiating from her. She loved talking about soccer, especially to younger kids. "I was pretty good too if I do say so myself." She joked.

Across the room, Heather laughed.

"So if you ever need anything soccer related, just ask your favorite Aunt JJ and I'll help you out." JJ nodded and smiled, making sure to throw in the 'favorite' part so that maybe it would catch on with her nieces and nephews.

Before Heather could say anything else, yet another set of footsteps came trampling down the stairs. "Mom!" A boy's voice yelled, "Mommy! Where are you?!" He turned the corner and saw them, all of them sitting in the living room. He froze. He was very young, younger than both of the girls, with dirty blonde hair and deep blue eyes which were traits probably from JJ's side of the family.

"Hey Pierce!" JJ greeted, warmly.

The boy didn't move.

"It's Aunt JJ, Pierce!" Heather exclaimed, trying to remind him.

"Aunt…JJ?" Pierce looked over at her and smiled a little bit, but he didn't have that many teeth to show off. It looked like he still wasn't completely sure who she was, but he still walked over, gave her a hug and then let her pull him onto her lap.

"I can't believe how big all of you have gotten. The last time I visited was…what? Two years ago? And you guys have changed so much." JJ smiled, bouncing Pierce lightly on her leg. She smiled down at him and kissed his forehead gently. It made him giggle.

"JJ?" A voice came from around the corner.

JJ slid Pierce gently off of her leg and then stood up, "Cole."

A fit man with dirty blonde hair and intense green eyes walked into the room with his hands in his pockets. He was all dressed for work in a collared shirt, black pants and a tie. He met JJ's eyes, but they didn't say anything. They skipped straight to the hug. Cole wrapped his arms around JJ and held her close, rubbing her back gently.

They pulled away from each other and spoke the next few phrases softly, but loud enough for Reid to hear them from where he was.

"You know I love you, right? I do, Jayje. I love you." Cole looked straight into her eyes.

"I love you too." She responded and they hugged a second time.

It was easy to see that they needed each other to get through this. Losing a sister to suicide was one thing, but losing a father to evil was something even more tragic.

Something even more horrifying.

But with each other's help they could make it through and really, that was the only way.

* * *

**"Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym."**

Stephen King


	4. Chapter 4

**"We pass through the present with our eyes blindfolded. We are permitted merely to sense and guess at what we are actually experiencing. Only later when the cloth is untied can we glance at the past and find out what we have experienced and what meaning it has."**

Milan Kundera

* * *

Cole, JJ, Reid and Emma exited the house and sat out on the porch while the kids stayed inside. This wasn't talk that they needed to hear. Luckily, they managed to keep themselves occupied without wondering what the adults were doing.

"So," Cole let out a quick sigh, "what's this about?" He and Emma were holding hands tightly and leaning against each other. It looked like a natural, comfortable sitting position for them.

JJ stared at him, her gaze a little bit colder than it needed to be, but he should know better. "It's about dad. I know they called you, Cole. And I know that you refused to go down to the station too. Why would you do that?"

Reid watched the interaction curiously, trying to stay quiet. This wasn't really his business to be involved anyway so he figured he would just sit there for moral support and let them work it out between themselves. That seemed like the best, and least awkward, way to do things.

"Why _wouldn't _I do that?" Cole shook his head, "He got himself arrested! And after everything that happened, I didn't want to see him…and I still don't." He sent two glances; first at Emma, and then at Reid.

JJ had an agitated look on her face, but she didn't say anything.

Cole glanced at Emma again, who noticed this time and gave him a small shrug in reply. Neither of them knew what JJ was so annoyed about. "What?" He asked her, confused.

She was snapped out of her thoughts, "Oh no…it's not you. When the police station called, did they tell you what he was arrested for?"

Reid understood now. She was angry at the police department for not telling him everything that was happening.

Cole shook his head and gave her a shrug, "No…" He looked from JJ to Reid and added the second part a little quieter, "What was he arrested for?" It looked like he was scared to actually find out the answer.

"Murder, Cole." JJ informed him with no emotion on her face, "Two girls are dead and they think he did it. And thanks to you they also think we're withholding information because you wouldn't come down and cooperate. Not-cooperating isn't a bad thing, but it also isn't good. It says that we have something to hide."

There was a small pause before he looked up again and slowly, softly said, "Don't we?"

Reid's mind was racing. _Don't we? What kind of a question is that? Is he implying that they do actually have something to hide? But JJ wouldn't go with that, she knows the complications of withholding information. She knows that doing that would make them accomplices and they would get arrested too. She's well aware of the consequences, but the quick anger that flashed through her eyes tells me that she is hiding something…but why? If she knows the consequences, why? Would the truth incriminate the both of them? _That was the only logical conclusion he could come up with.

JJ changed the subject easily, "That's not the point. You should have come when they called. When the police call, you go where they tell you, got it?"

Cole looked like he didn't want to agree with her, but he knew better than to get into an argument about it. "Yea," He paused, "so you just came to come and get me then? So we can go back to the station and see good ol' dad?" He smirked, sarcastically.

"No. You should drive down there tomorrow because Reid and I still have to go to Travis' house too. Get there at 11 for some questioning, but don't worry…it's going to be casual." JJ lied easily, knowing that it probably wasn't going to be as easy-going as she was letting on.

Cole let out a sigh and looked at Emma, "I guess I'll go."

"I can get a sitter for the kids…" Emma started, giving her husband a concerned look. She touched his arm looking worried.

"No, I'll go alone…well, not alone. JJ and Travis will be there." Cole smiled at JJ and then Emma, "Don't worry about me. I'll call you every time I get the chance and tell you everything that's going on. It'll almost be like you're there."

"Then why don't I just come?"

Cole shook his head, "I just want to do this on my own…if you're okay with that, I mean."

"I'm okay with whatever you want." Emma gave him a sweet smile and then they pressed their lips together in a quick, but what looked like passionate kiss.

JJ nodded, awkwardly. "Well, I guess we'd better get going. We have to get down to Travis' house by tonight. So I'll see you tomorrow, right?" She stared at him expectantly.

"Yes, yes. Stop worrying. I'll be there, JJ." Cole smiled a little bit and stood up, giving her one last hug before they walked back inside where JJ told her nieces and nephews that they were leaving. She hugged each of them, hugged Emma and then they finally headed towards the door.

The pair exited the house, saying their polite goodbyes and then climbed into the car. As the next drive started there really wasn't that much silence. They talked a lot about her nieces and nephews, her brothers and even the case. It was nice until Reid decided that they needed to figure something out.

"So JJ…what was your dad like? From what your brother was saying, it didn't sound like he liked him very much…" Reid looked over at her, vaguely wondering if she would shut this conversation down the same way she had before.

JJ let out a quick sigh, "My brothers used to like him…they were really close and my sister and I were close with my mom, but when she left my dad had to stretch himself a little bit more thin. He wasn't home as much and my older brother and sister just kind of had to watch out for us. A year after that my grandma started giving us money so my dad was home more, but…" She stopped.

Reid knew that the thing that she was hiding was going to come up eventually. He stared at her, "But what?"

She didn't answer.

Rather than looking over at Reid and giving him the truth or even just lying, she was silent.

Reid didn't know what to do because they were stuck in a very uncomfortable silence. Luckily, a few minutes later his phone rang loudly from his pocket. He leaned to the side, reached into his pocket and then answered the phone.

"Agent Reid." He answered, nonchalantly as if nothing had even happened.

"Hey Reid, its Hotch. How are things going with JJ? Have you guys found either of her brothers yet?" Hotch asked quickly, in his normal urgent voice.

Reid glanced at JJ and gave her a quick smile when he saw her look over, "Yea we talked to her brother, Cole and he said that he would come down to the police station tomorrow for questioning. Right now, we're on our way to Travis' house to convince him to come down too. We'll probably end up spending the night there."

"Alright, well…look out for anything suspicious. JJ's dad isn't talking at all now, but still hasn't asked for a lawyer. He's hiding something, but he's confident enough in himself and his children to keep his secret for him." Hotch let out a quick sigh.

"Okay…I will." Reid answered vaguely so that he wouldn't tip JJ off to what they were talking about, "I guess we'll see all of you tomorrow then."

"Yes…oh and tell JJ that we'll need to ask her some questions too. I don't want her to be caught off guard tomorrow so at least mention it to her, alright?"

Reid nodded, unaware that the unit chief couldn't see it. "Got it. See you tomorrow, Hotch. Bye." He hung up and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

"What did he say?" JJ spoke for the first time in the past thirty minutes.

Reid shrugged a little bit, "He asked how we were doing and said that your dad still hasn't requested an attorney. He also told me to tell you that tomorrow they're going to have to ask you some questions along with your brothers. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay. Why wouldn't it be?" JJ smirked, keeping her gaze forward.

Reid noticed the mood shift that had happened, but he didn't question it. She was probably just acting bright and cheerful so that he wouldn't be able to ask her anymore questions. He was pretty sure that was it. "No reason." He decided to play along. Their joking banter was much more fun than sitting in silence after a short argument.

The next couple hours went by smoothly, almost unnoticed by the two friends who spent the time talking to each other and sharing old stories about their childhood and even about the team. It was about 7:00 at night when they reached Travis' house.

Reid couldn't help feeling a little bit unwelcome as they drove up to his large Pennsylvanian plantation house. It was huge, from what Reid could tell from the outside, it was three stories and there was farmland all around it with a barn in the backyard. It was beautiful, actually, beautifully historic. There was a gate that opened to the driveway so Reid had to get out and open it for JJ to drive through and then closed it when she was in. She parked the car and he walked up to the porch where he waited patiently for her.

"Does he have any kids?" He asked with a small yawn.

"Nope, just a wife and a couple of horses." JJ gave him a quick smile before reaching up and ringing the doorbell. They could hear the loud chimes of the doorbell from where they were standing on the porch.

Reid hoped that they were interrupting anything important because there was no way that they hadn't heard the doorbell ringing.

A loud set of footsteps came towards the door and he had to assume that it was JJ's brother walking heavily towards the door. He put a smile on his face just before the door was pulled open. A fit 37 year old man with sandy blonde hair and deep blue eyes was standing in front of them with a confused look on his face.

An almost scared look.

"Travis?" A hint of fear was evident in her own voice. She obviously didn't know why he had that look in his eyes.

He didn't answer.

"Travis, it's me. It's JJ…" She gulped quietly, nervously.

After that, he finally just blinked himself out of it. "I know, I know. I-I'm sorry Jayje, it's just…you look so much like her. It scared me for a second..."

JJ smiled a little bit, "Scares me sometimes too."

Reid assumed they were talking about JJ's older sister, who had never really heard about. All he knew was that she wasn't alive anymore, but when or how she died…JJ had never told him.

Her brother had a broad smile on his face now. He stepped forward and hugged her tightly, "It's so great to see you." His mood had changed considerably, but this looked more natural. The smiles, hugs, caring, that seemed more like his personality.

"You too, Travis." JJ smiled back, holding him tight.

"And who is this? Someone special…?" Travis raised his eyebrows. He held his hand out for Reid to shake it.

"Just a friend." Reid shook the man's hand. His shake was firm, he was confident…like JJ. It was easy to see that they had a lot of the same qualities. "I'm Spencer Reid…"

Travis' eyebrows raised again, "_The _Spencer Reid?" He asked, "My sister talks very highly of you, Dr. Reid. It's nice to finally meet you." His grin was contagious, "Come inside, please."

They both followed him, almost eagerly. He was so charismatic; the friendliness that he radiated out was well-needed and well-appreciated from them. It was refreshing to be around someone like that. He just seemed like that kind of person, the kind of person that everyone wants to be, but can never seem to go through with. The good kind of person.

"So what brings you all the way up here?" Travis smirked a little bit, teasingly.

JJ rolled her eyes, "I think you already know."

They all sat down comfortably in the living room, easily getting settled.

"I do." Travis' smile faded slowly, "Dad." There was grimness in his voice, the same one that came when Cole had spat his father's name. Why did each of the kids have the same reaction? He wished that he could just be let into the loop.

"The FBI came up here to investigate, the BAU to be exact. We're here…helping." JJ stared at him, her blue eyes examining him. "I know they called you Travis and I know that you ignored it, why?"

"The same reason that Cole did and the same reason that I know if they would have called you, you would have too." Travis sipped a cup of water that had been sitting on the table beside his chair. "It's simple really; I don't care what happens to Dad. And I'm sorry about that, but why should I?"

JJ's glare was intact, "Because two girls died because of him. Don't you want to help? Just because they call about Dad doesn't mean you have to be on his side." She explained, irritably.

Travis rolled his eyes, "Why should I even come? You don't need me. They have you and Cole to tell the stories. I was just the older brother, I wasn't even home half the time."

"Then why does it matter so much? You come in, you tell them that. It's pretty simple; wouldn't you say so Dr. Reid?" JJ turned to look at him expectantly. She needed backup on this.

Reid nodded slowly, meeting Travis' eyes. "I would have to agree with JJ. Different perspectives of the same story can mean all the difference. All you have to do is come in and tell them, we'll have you out in one day at the most."

"No. I'm sorry, Dr. Reid…you seem like a nice kid, but I can't come in. You don't know what kind of stories there are to tell and how complicated things are, how painful they are…" Travis' eyes were clouded with memories.

"Where's Kelly? She'll knock some sense into you." JJ stood up, looking around.

"Grocery Store and I don't want her brought into this. I don't want her to-"

JJ cut in, her voice raised in anger. "To what? You don't want her to know what happened. Do you want anyone to know what happened? I know you know things that Cole and I don't. You and Sarah did, so don't lie to me."

His face was blank.

"Why can't you just come, for me?" JJ asked, "Cole is going to be there…just Cole, without the family. I know you guys haven't had the chance to catch up for a while…"

Reid could feel the tension there. He could see Travis' muscles tighten from where he was sitting across the room. That was obviously a sensitive subject for the family, but he didn't know why. _Should I ask her again? _He wondered. _She didn't take it well last time…_ He was woken from his thoughts when he heard Travis respond.

He stood as he spoke, "All the more reason for me not to show up." His voice was angry, full of stress.

"You guys still haven't gotten over that? Travis you're older than him. Grow up and forgive him, you have to be the bigger person, okay? This is important to me…please." JJ looked up at him, but he didn't meet her eyes.

He walked around the couch, out of the room and into the kitchen which was visible from where JJ and Reid were sitting. "I don't understand why I have to be there. There's questioning, which I get, but why can't they come here? Why do I have to be there?" He filled up his cup with water.

"It's courtesy, Travis. It would be so much easier to get the records on file and get have contact with our technical analyst. I don't understand what the problem is here. I think you're just being difficult…" She was getting irritated now, "Cole is coming and I'm going to be there. We're ending whatever's going on with Dad. Don't you want to be there for that? Don't you want to be a part of it?"

He was silent.

"Travis!"

He gave in, "I…I'll think about it, alright? Is that a good enough answer for you?"

"I guess." JJ ran her fingers through her hair, "Let me know before tomorrow if you're coming though so that my team knows how many people are going to be there."

"Alright." Travis looked at her, "How is your job going, by the way? Still good? Last time we talked you were just transferring from the State Department job back to the BAU." He smiled a little, the tension free from his body. He sat down across from them again.

JJ glanced at Reid, "Still good. What can I say? I love what I do and who I do it with." She sent a smile in Reid's direction, "That's why I'm here Travis…to do my job. So please come…give it a chance, give us a chance."

"I'll…think about it."

JJ nodded and there was a short, awkward silence before she stood up. "We'd better get going, right Reid?" She glanced down at her watch. It was only 7:30, "If we start driving right now we could probably make it back to Pittsburgh by 11:30."

"Okay, well, I don't know if I already told you this, but it was really great to see you again Jay. I hope you'll come back soon. We'd love to have you and even some of your team members," he smiled at Reid, "visiting us."

JJ smiled brightly and hugged her older brother, "Okay if you insist, but some of them are crazy. You've been warned." She pulled away and looked into her brother's eyes. "Think about tomorrow and let me know, okay? Just know that this is really important, especially to me."

"I'll give it a good amount of thought and let you know. Don't worry, everything will work out. I think all of this will blow over soon enough." Travis grinned almost too optimistically.

"You think?"

"I know."

JJ smiled up at him, gave him another quick hug and then walked out the front door with Reid. He heard the door shut behind them as they made their way down the driveway to the SUV.

Reid was mad though. There was something going on and he didn't like that JJ wasn't telling him what it was. It could help the investigation and she wasn't going to let him in? There was such a thing as being too proud.

"JJ." He said as they were walking down towards the car.

She turned around and looked at him. Concern filled her eyes when she saw the annoyance on his face, "What? What's wrong Reid?"

Reid shook his head, "This needs to stop. I'm not stupid, JJ, you of all people should know that. There's something you're not telling me and it's time to come clean, don't you think?" He gave her an expectant look.

JJ looked offended, "Why is it any of your business?"

"It could help the investigation! Don't you get that JJ? You're hurting more than you're helping if you're holding important information! Sometimes there are things that are more important than privacy." He added the last sentence more quietly.

Anger filled her eyes and she shook her head, "You don't get it either! You don't know what you're talking about this time Reid. It's my life! I get to decide if it is important to the investigation or not. And this isn't."

"But how do you know?!" Reid retorted quickly, "What if it lead to something else that helped us? You can't see the future and I know you hate not being in control, but this time you need to take the back seat and let me decide what to do."

"Who made you in charge?"

"You're compromised, JJ! You're biased, you can't make rational decisions. I know you _think _that you can, but you can't! Just tell me what's going on!" Reid exclaimed, his voice raised as well as hers. They were pretty much just yelling at each other now.

JJ's eyes flashed, "You don't understand! You don't get it…" Her voice was getting quieter, "I don't want to talk about it, okay? I don't want to go through it again and neither do my brothers. So why should we have to?"

Reid stepped towards her so that he was inches away from her. He looked directly into her conflicted blue eyes, "Don't you trust me? If you just tell me then I will decide from there if we need to tell anyone else. I just need to know…"

JJ looked away from him, at the ground. "I can't…" Her voice cracked slightly.

"Yes, you can. You're strong…and all you have to do is trust me. I'm not going to judge you. I just want to help, JJ." Reid tried to look her in the eyes again, "Please."

She didn't say anything for a long time.

Reid thought that she was crying at first, but then he thought better of it. She wouldn't cry, he was sure of it. She never cried in front of other people, but he was also certain that sometimes she did cry when no one else could see.

"Come on." She said quietly and started walking towards the woods. At the very edge of the trees there was a bench, she sat down on it and then motioned for him to sit down next to her.

It took her a little less than an hour to explain everything to him.

During that hour, Reid didn't say a word.

When she was finished, she looked over at him. "Say something." She pleaded, wanting to know what he thought about it.

He took a short pause, "You were right. We're _not_ telling the team about this, I understand now. I get it JJ and I'm sorry that I was so pushy about this. You shouldn't have had to tell me and I'm just…I'm sorry."

* * *

**"But there's a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begin."**

Mitch Albom


	5. Chapter 5

**"It seemed to be a necessary ritual that he should prepare himself for sleep by meditating under the solemnity of the night sky…a mysterious transaction between the infinity of the soul and the infinity of the universe." **

Victor Hugo

* * *

By the time that Reid and JJ were back in Pittsburgh it was midnight so they headed straight to the hotel that the team was staying at. Most of the car ride had been silent, but it wasn't exactly tense either...it was more like they were both just so exhausted from the day and were ready to go straight to bed. They were both sharing rooms, Reid with Morgan and JJ with Emily which meant that when they went in they would have to be quiet. They walked down the hallway of rooms on the 5th floor until they reached Reid's room; JJ's was a couple doors down.

Reid looked over at her, his gaze meaningful. "Hey, get a good night's sleep, okay?"

"I will." She nodded, too tired to assure him to get a good night of rest too. All she wanted to do was climb into the bed and close her eyes, but when she opened the door to her room she found Emily still awake sitting on the bed.

"Oh she's back." Emily said out loud into the phone that was laying on the bed in front of her.

_"JJ! Welcome back! How was your trip? Did you keep all your boys in line?"_ Garcia's voice rang out cheerfully over the phone.

JJ smiled a little bit and set her suitcase down on the ground, "Reid was the perfect gentleman. My brothers, on the other hand, were difficult. I got Cole to agree to come, but Travis said he would only think about it? What the hell does that mean? Is he gonna come or not?" She rolled her eyes. "I hate men."

_"Oh don't worry, Gumdrop. Men always come through in the end. Plus you'll always have __**Reid **__to help you through." _Garcia sing-songed a little too happily.

"Why do you say it like that?"

"She thinks that you and Reid have a thing…" Emily joined the conversation abruptly.

"Aww. I wish, but we're only friends and that's the way I like it. I like being comfortable around him and that's all. Sorry guys." JJ smiled a little bit, "Plus I like a man who takes charge, powerful if you know what I mean."

_"No I don't know what you mean, do elaborate."_

JJ snorted and rolled her eyes before walking into the bathroom to go through her routine. She listened to Emily and Garcia talking in the background. She was finished within 10 minutes and after that she was ready for bed. Everything was done for the today, tomorrow was what she had to worry about.

_"Well goodnight my lovelies. Sleep tight." _They could both practically hear Garcia's smile on the other end of the line.

"Goodnight, Garcia." Emily said with her own smile.

JJ, however, was ready for bed so she kept her response short. "Night."

After that, Garcia hung up and the two women went to sleep. A sweet, dreamless sleep that they both deeply needed in preparation for tomorrow, especially JJ. Tomorrow was the day that her whole family would be reunited and the sad thing was that she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

* * *

An alarm clock woke them both up the next morning. The loud, annoying sound of beeping wasn't the most cheerful way to wake up, but it was the most effective. JJ was up in a matter of minutes to turn the terrible noise off and once she was up, she was up for good…there was no getting back to sleep after that. It was 6:00 and they had to be down in the lobby by a 7:00. She would start getting ready now and then wake up Emily around 6:30.

As she opened the door to the bathroom and turned on the light, she heard a moan come from the other room. She assumed that Emily was awake and a light chuckle escaped her mouth. That girl was _not _a morning person. The shower she took was quick, but efficient. Once she was finished with that she grabbed her blow dryer and moved back into the other room.

"Emily!" JJ called in no particular direction as she turned one of the lamps on and plugged the blow dryer in. She held her towel up with one hand and approached Emily's bed with the other, "Emily!"

Emily's face was buried in her pillow.

"Seriously? I heard you moaning and I know you're awake because when you're asleep you snore, Em. I'm sorry, but you do…really loud." JJ smirked and watched her friend roll over so that she was face up.

"No I do not…do I?" Emily rubbed her eyes and sat up, "But no one's ever told me…well actually there was that one time in camp, and in college, and my dad may have mentioned it." She sighed and shook her head, "Damn it."

JJ rolled her eyes, "You have the bathroom. We have to be downstairs in the lobby by 7:00." She reported, starting to blow dry her hair.

"What?!" Emily called over the blow dryer, "Why did you wake me up earlier?!"

"Emily! Calm down! It's only 6:20! You still have plenty of time, even if you do take a shower!" JJ yelled back and then continued blow drying her hair. She barely noticed Emily scrambling to get her clothes and then rushing into the bathroom. Her shower was done in record time, for a woman anyway: 9 minutes. That didn't seem like nearly enough time, but when Emily came out…she looked clean and luckily JJ was finished with the blow dryer so she could use it.

While the other woman was drying her hair, JJ proceeded to get dressed in her work clothes which consisted of black pants and a tight blue shirt that she had brought because it really brought out her bright blue eyes. And after that she brushed her teeth and fixed her hair for the second time. She had purposely twisted the brush around while blow-drying to create soft curls in her hair. Lastly, she applied the daily make-up that she put on her face, which wasn't too much. It was just enough to make her face look smooth and make her eyes pop.

She was done and it was only 6:40.

JJ saw that Emily was already dressed, but still had to do a few more things. "Hey Emily, I'm gonna go down and get some coffee, you want anything?"

Emily looked up at that, "I'll take it black, thanks."

JJ nodded and walked out of their hotel room. The quietness of the halls calmed her as she tried to forget about what the rest of the day was going to be like. She was just walking through a hotel to get some coffee, no case, no family, no problems…

She wished her life was that simple.

Now, not only was she being forced to hold back, but she had also somehow managed to tie Reid into it too which she felt terrible about. He deserved to know for being dragged around yesterday, but what he didn't deserve was the weight that seemed to be set on his shoulders. It wasn't fair to him.

JJ shook the thoughts away as she approached the elevator. When the doors opened she was met with the smiling face of a man who had already been in the elevator. He looked too optimistic for her liking, but she would admit that he was attractive. He had shaggy, dirty blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. His teeth were white and when he smiled, it was almost like he made a point to show every tooth.

So she smiled back, politely and entered the elevator. "Good morning."

The man grinned next to her, "Mornin' Miss." He had a light country accent that she didn't mind too much, if anything she liked the smoothness of it.

JJ turned around to look at him. She needed something to get her mind off of the case, "You're not from here, are you?" She smiled a little bit.

The man raised an eyebrow, curiously. "Do I really look that much like a tourist?"

"No, not at all actually. It was the accent that gave you away. Where are you from?" JJ leaned lightly against the back of the elevator. They were getting close to reaching the ground floor.

He gave her a half-smile, "Tennessee. Nashville, actually."

JJ tilted her head, "Are you a singer?"

He smiled sheepishly at that, "No ma'am. I'm just a writer for my local newspaper…it pays the bills. I do sing part-time though and I've have been thinkin' of pursuin' a career in those sorts." He shrugged, "And if you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you do?"

JJ thought about lying to him. She knew that being an FBI agent wasn't exactly one of the friendliest careers, but it did feel wrong to lie about who she was after that man had told her his story. "I am a Communications Liaison for the FBI."

He looked surprised, "FBI? You strike me as more of a country girl, not one of them city folks."

The doors of the elevator slowly slid open.

"You're half-right." JJ smiled at him and stepped out of the elevator, "Well it looks like it's time for us to part ways."

The disappointment was easy to see in his striking green eyes, "Well…uh…wait. Where are you going? I don't have to be anywhere for a couple hours and I'd love to hear more about what the big bad FBI is like."

She stared back at him and then smiled, "I was just heading down to the coffee shop."

"I could use some caffeine." He grinned, "But before we do…I'd love to learn your name, if that's alright with you."

She smiled, "Oh of course…I'm Jennifer Jareau and most people call me JJ."

He nodded slowly. "JJ…" He repeated, "I like the sound of that. I'm Carson Locklear of the Nashville Scene."

JJ smiled and walked towards the coffee shop that she had seen when they had arrived, "So if you're a writer/singer from Nashville, what brings you to Pittsburgh?" She asked, tilting her head curiously.

"The same reason you are. The Nashville Scene, which if you hadn't figured out already is the newspaper I work for, asked me to come n' write a story about the murders that are happenin' here. I heard the FBI was comin', but I never thought I'd be face to face with one of you. Is it bad if I'm a little bit intimidated?" He chuckled lightly.

JJ smirked, "It happens to everyone. But if you're looking for some top secret information or private interviews…it's not happening. Plus, no one has told me anything for the past 24 hours so there's really nothing new anyway."

"I heard it's pretty bad."

"What?"

"The case. Two girls were murdered or somethin' like that. Nashville ain't some kind of heaven or nothin', but I never hear about those kinds of murders." His expression was serious.

JJ nodded, trying not to think about the fact that her father was behind all of these terrible things. "We've seen worse, but that still doesn't justify this…nothing does." She muttered, more harshly then she meant to.

Carson looked like he was going to say something, but he stopped himself and started a different statement. "I know bein' in the FBI must be hard on you guys. Seein' everything that happens, all the pain and suffering…all the killers that get away with it." He paused and gave her a sympathetic look, "It must tear you apart."

"We learn how to cope."

He gave her a crooked smile, "So tell me. How does a beautiful half-country girl end up gettin' a job in the FBI?"

JJ decided to ignore the 'beautiful' part of his statement and go ahead and answer his question, "The same way everyone else does. I went through training at an academy and then they chose me to come and join a team."

"Sounds like a dream come true." He grinned, showing off the small dimples on his cheeks. "And why are you a half-country girl, where are you from?"

JJ chuckled, "I'm from here. This town, to be exact and as you can probably see…it's not country, but it's definitely not city."

"Let me be the judge of that. Did you ever go hunting with your dad?"

"Yes."

"If you ran away, do you think that you'd be able to survive by yourself?"

"Sure."

"Did you ever try?"

"Once."

"And how did it go?"

"I was there for one night until my brother came and stayed with me."

"Does your dad keep a gun in the house?"

"Yes."

"Well, if that ain't country I don't know what is. Maybe we have a lot more in common then you think, Miss Jareau." Carson grinned brightly.

JJ smiled and nodded slowly, "I'd like to believe that we do."

Carson opened his mouth to say something else, but never got the chance.

"JJ?" A third voice came out from behind them.

Without even having to turn around, JJ knew who it was. She gave Carson a quick smile before slowly turning around in her chair, "Emily. Looks like you finally got ready." She joked lightly before handing her friend the coffee that she had gotten her.

Emily smirked, "I'll have you know I happen to be…" She looked at her watch, "10 minutes early." Her eyes shifted now to the man that was sitting across the table from JJ, "And who is this Jayje?" She gave her friend a playful smile.

"Emily, this is Carson. He's a writer from Nashville. Carson, this is Emily Prentiss. She's one of the agents on my team." JJ gestured to the seat next to her so that Emily could sit down at the table with them.

Carson grinned, "Hello there ma'am." He nodded respectfully to her.

Emily smiled, "A cowboy from Nashville…what are the odds?"

"Not that high, I'd guess. I think it's more of a privilege for me to meet you though. Two FBI agents n' one day…I'm feelin' pretty important right now." Carson chuckled, "You guys are the best of the best, right?"

JJ shook her head, "I wouldn't say we're the best…"

"We're the best." Emily cut in.

JJ rolled her eyes.

Carson nodded, "And how many more women are on your team? Should I be expectin' a couple more beautiful women to come in here for coffee with guns on their belts?" He asked, raising his eyebrow expectantly.

"As much as I hate to say it…we're the only two women who travel, but our technical analyst is woman. She's not here, but she has one hell of a personality." JJ explained to Carson, smirking. "But you definitely have a lot going for you too…the country accent, cute dimples. I mean, Emily couldn't take her eyes off of you."

Carson looked over at Emily, "What's that now?" He chuckled.

Emily shot JJ a cold glare, "Wow. Way to sell a friend out." She smiled a little bit, "But it's true. I don't mind a little country."

"Agent Prentiss, Agent Jareau." Another new voice joined their conversation, but it was stern and hard. It was unmistakably Hotch. "What do you think you're doing? We are supposed to be meeting in the lobby-"

JJ was looking down at her watch, "In five minutes. We still have a little bit of time, Hotch. What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Who's this?" He rested his glare on Carson.

JJ looked back at Carson, giving him a comforting smile. She wasn't sure why Hotch was acting so cold towards him. "Hotch, this is Carson Locklear and Carson this is Aaron Hotchner…my boss." She smiled at each of them.

Carson stood up and held a hand out to Hotch, who ignored it.

"Mr. Locklear do you realize that you're talking to two highly trained FBI agents?" Hotch asked, anger in his voice and in his eyes. When Carson nodded, he continued. "And do you realize that flirting with them is extremely inappropriate?"

Carson didn't say anything at first. He looked uncomfortable and embarrassed, maybe even a little bit scared. He looked over at JJ, "I think I'd better get going. It was nice meeting the both of you." He stood up and as he walked by Hotch he gave the man a respectful nod, "Agent Hotchner."

Hotch watched him walk away, "What are you two thinking? We're on a case and you think it's okay to have a casual cup of coffee with a guy you've never met? It's not." He shook his head and started walking away.

JJ met Emily's eyes, her own eyes blazing.

Her friend shook her head, "Just leave it Jayje."

"No, you know what? I'm not gonna just sit here and act like he's right." JJ stood up and walked after Hotch before Emily could stop her, "Hotch!" She called when she had caught up to him.

He turned around and stared at her, his eyes still hostile.

"What gives you the right to dictate what goes on outside of our work? So I met a guy in the elevator and invited him to have coffee with me. Why is that such a big deal? We hadn't even started working yet. Please just explain it to me because my small female brain just can't seem to wrap around it." JJ's eyes flashed.

Hotch glanced around to make sure no one was watching them, "You've never met this guy JJ! Plus, your mind should be focused on the case right now, not men that you find in a hotel elevator. Trust me when I say you're gonna need all the help you can get."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Hotch's face was red with anger, "What do you think it means? Your family is not in good standings with the police and it's not getting any better. Not just your dad either. Your _whole _family." He explained.

JJ was confused, "And why's that?"

"JJ they know that you and your brothers are holding information! We know, so why don't you just give it up? Because if they find out what it is…and it's important then you're going to get arrested and so will your brothers. Is that what you want?!" Hotch said forcefully. His voice wasn't raised, it was just intense.

JJ glared at him, "No. But this isn't about what I want, Hotch." She shook her head and looked at the ground, "I thought you understood. I thought you were _different." _She spat the last word, her voice as cold as her glare.

"How could I possibly _understand?" _Hotch asked, "My father wasn't a murderer. And even if he was I wouldn't be stupid enough to lie to protect him. So no, I don't understand and I'm not different. And I'm insulted that you thought I was."

JJ's eyes started swimming, but she walked away from him long before the tears fell.

* * *

**"Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word."**

George R.R. Martin


	6. Chapter 6

**"It is a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up."**

J.K. Rowling

* * *

"JJ! Where the hell have you been? We already met up in the lobby and discussed the case. And Hotch looked really pissed." Emily said as she walked up to where JJ was standing outside, "Almost as pissed as you do. What happened?"

JJ shook her head, "Don't."

There was an awkward silence after that. Emily wasn't sure what to say next, but luckily she was saved by the rest of the team coming outside and heading towards the cars. "Well, looks like we're leaving. I'll see you at the station, Jayje." And with that, she walked away.

JJ was about to start walking towards the cars too when she felt a hand grab her wrist. She knew who it was so she tried to yank it away without turning around, but he had a firm grip on her. "What do you want?" She asked, eyes blazing.

Hotch stared at her, "It's one thing for you to be angry at me, but it can't get in the way of our work. You missed our meeting and I know you did it just to undermine me. Now, you're going to handle this one way or another because like it or not we're going to see each other and I can't have you disappearing all the time. Understand?"

"Got it, _Boss_." She muttered sarcastically, spitting the word _'Boss' _at him like it was disgusting and then forcefully yanking her wrist away from him. She spun around on her heels and walked to the car that Reid and Morgan were getting into.

"Well hello there, JJ. How nice of you to grace us with your presence." Morgan said with a charming smile plastered on his face. In JJ's opinion, he was too happy for this time of day and for this type of experience,

But she didn't say anything. She just stared out of the window, hoping that neither of them would talk to her. She was not in a good mood. First, because Hotch was being annoying and unreasonable and second, because she was about to see her brothers and father at the same time…which probably wasn't going to go over smoothly.

None of them had any idea just how screwed up her family actually was.

She prayed that maybe there would be a lot of traffic on the freeway so that she could have some extra time to think on the way there, but unluckily for her…it was completely clear. If anything, they were going to get there early.

When they arrived, Morgan got out of the car immediately, but JJ took her time. She sat there in her seat for a few extra seconds to gather herself. From the front seat she saw Reid turn around to look at her, "You okay?"

"Never better." She muttered, using more of a sarcastic edge than she had intended.

Reid nodded slowly to let her words sink in. He could tell that she was upset, "Hey…it's gonna be okay. I know you haven't had anyone around to tell you that lately, but that doesn't mean that it won't be. It is _going _to be okay and I'm telling you that as an FBI agent and as a friend, okay?"

JJ looked up and met his warm, compassionate hazel eyes. "Yea. Thanks, Spence." And with that, she pushed the car door open and stepped out. In the parking lot she recognized her brother Cole's SUV parked a few spots over from hers. It was good that he had decided to come, but now that they were all together things were about to get messy.

She imagined Skye and Heather and Pierce, Cole's kids. She hoped that this case wouldn't get back to them somehow; she prayed that Cole wouldn't get wrapped up into it. If it came down to it…she would make sure that he wouldn't be.

JJ hesitated when she reached the doors. When she went through the doors she would see him; her father…and her brothers. She knew that all the memories that she had buried down deep throughout the years were going to float right back up to the surface.

And that scared her more than anything else.

Reid walked up from behind her. He stopped just before he reached the doors and looked back at her, "You don't really think he's guilty, do you?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

JJ sighed and walked forward, pushing the doors open. "I don't know what to think." The first thing she saw when she stepped inside was her brother, sitting in a chair outside one of the rooms. He looked worried, scared even. She walked directly up to him, "You came."

"Of course I did." He sighed and closed his eyes for a few moments, "But I didn't think that it was going to be this hard. Just thinking about seeing him…"

JJ shook her head and sat down next to him, "Maybe he's innocent…" She said softly, the question that Reid had asked her coming to her mind suddenly, "I don't know Cole. I just think he's our dad and our family so we should stand by him."

"Stand by him?" Cole asked, incredulously. "After what he did to mom, I wouldn't be surprised that he killed some other women. You should be the angriest about this…I mean, it was you and Sarah who found out in the first place."

_"Where are we going?" The ten year old JJ asked her sister. She knew they had been driving for hours, but because she was so young she really didn't have any idea where they were going. It felt like they had been on the same road for the past two hours, at least._

_Sarah glanced over, a smile on her face. "We're going to Winchester, it's about an hour from here. And we're going to stay a hotel. I know you always like doing that." She said. _

_JJ nodded and shrugged, "Why are we going to Winchester?"_

_Sarah was silent for a few moments, it looked like she was trying to figure out the best way to answer her sister's question. "We're going to see mom, JJ. Well…it's more like we're going to find mom, actually."_

_"Why? Why do we have to find her? Why doesn't she find us?" She asked innocently, having no idea just how complicated things actually were._

_Sarah smiled a little bit and let out a small sigh, "It's not that simple. I'll just say it like this, and you can't tell Cole or Travis, okay JJ?" She looked expectantly at her younger sister, "I have to tell them myself."_

_"I won't tell." JJ was secretly happy to be included on one of the secrets because she was usually the one who never got to know. _

_They were at a stoplight so Sarah looked over and make eye contact with JJ, "I don't think mom left on purpose, Jayje. I don't think she wanted to leave." _

JJ blinked, remembering that made it feel like centuries ago. Back when everything in her life was simple: school, friends, soccer, food. That was it for her, but now…everything had changed. And it definitely wasn't for the better.

She looked over at her brother, "Cole. I want to talk to him. And I'm going to do it with or without you, but I would really like it if you would come with me."

Her brother opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by another man's voice joining the conversation, "I'll go with you."

They both looked up and saw their older brother standing over them. He had a crooked smile on his face and it was easy to tell that he was out of place and uncomfortable in the police station.

"Travis!" JJ exclaimed happily, "You came too!" She hugged him excitedly.

He nodded and chuckled, squeezing his sister tightly before pulling away. "I decided that I didn't want my baby brother and sister to have to do all of this alone." His eyes rested on Cole, "Good to see you bro. It's been a while…"

Cole lifted his eyes to meet Travis'. They were hostile at first, but then he realized that his brother was actually trying to really patch things up this time…and that was enough to get him to forget about it, but just for a little while. "Hey Travis." He hugged his brother too.

They launched into a full blown conversation after that, trying to figure out where to go from there.

* * *

Emily was on the other side of the police department, "I hate to say this…I really do, but JJ's brother's… they aren't bad looking." She said into the phone, trying to keep her voice low so that no one heard what she was talking about with their favorite technical analyst.

"Oooo! Which one?!" She sounded excited…overly excited.

Emily shook her head, "Both of them Garcia. They're both married though….I guess they'll just be fun to look at then, especially when I'm loaded up on case reports and writing the profile." She smiled.

Garcia laughed on her end, "I'm jealous…well, sort of. I can't imagine how bad things must be there. How's our gum drop, is she still doing okay?" Her voice had changed from playful to concerned.

"I'm not sure. We had a weird conversation outside the hotel and she sounded upset. I think she's mad at Hotch." Emily stated blankly, not really sure if it was true.

Garcia gasped over-dramatically, "Oh god. It's gonna be World War 3 over there Em! Both of them fighting with each other, oh no. I can't even…I can't even imagine."

Emily shrugged, unaware that Garcia couldn't see it. "I think she could really use some cheering up, maybe you should give us a call when we get back to the hotel. And maybe tell Will that he needs to call her too, where's he been?"

"He was here a couple of hours ago actually, he said something about a plane ticket. I couldn't understand him, that damn accent just gets me every time. Anyway, Andersen _could_ understand him. And he told Will that he should stay here. He left quickly, looking pissed I might add." Garcia reported.

Emily tilted her head, "You don't think he's coming here, do you? The last thing that JJ needs is more people knowing about what's going on and smothering her."

"He won't come. There are boundaries that you just can't cross and with JJ, it's her work. She likes work and home separate. Will knows that. And he respects that…I hope." Garcia didn't sound as sure as she did at the beginning of their conversation.

Emily didn't reply, only took in a deep breath.

Garcia spoke again, "Just look after her, okay?"

"Always." Emily replied with a small smile. She looked over at saw Hotch give her a small, but informative nod as he walked over to Morgan and she understood that they were just about ready to start the interviews, "I have to go, but we'll call you later, Garcia. Bye." With that, they both hung up and Emily made her way over to JJ and her brothers.

JJ looked over at Emily, a bright smile on her face. It looked like she had cheered up considerably since her brothers had arrived, "Oh hey Emily! I don't think you've met my brothers. This is Cole and this is Travis." She gestured to each of them as she said their names.

"I'm Emily Prentiss, a member of JJ's team. It's nice to meet the both of you." Emily replied, smiling and holding out her hand to shake each of their hands.

Cole didn't say anything, only smiled brightly.

Travis, on the other hand, spoke. His voice was deep and luring, "It's nice to meet you too."

"Well," Emily glanced over at Hotch and Morgan who were heading into two separate interrogation rooms, "I think they're ready to start questioning now. You will each be in a separate room, for now. And after that, we'll give you the opportunity to talk to your father. He's been asking for you guys."

"Great." Cole muttered sarcastically.

JJ shot a fierce glare back at him.

Emily smiled a little bit, "Alright then. Well, Cole you're with me. Travis, you'll be with Agent Morgan and JJ, you're with Hotch." She informed each of them, "Just come into the rooms when you're ready." And then she walked away and entered the third interrogation room.

JJ was fuming. Of course, out of all three interviewers, she would be with Hotch. That was just perfect. She turned to her brothers, "Okay guys. Just be calm and if they ask you anything that you don't want to answer just remember that you don't have to."

They both nodded.

JJ started walking towards her room when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was immediately reminded of Hotch and she turned around to see Travis standing there. "JJ," He smiled lightly, "I just want you to know that everything's going to be okay, alright?"

She nodded slowly, "I know."

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her again, giving her a light kiss on the forehead. "I'm here for you, Jayje."

She smiled and closed her eyes for a few moments, glad that her brothers were here. They were literally the only people keeping her sane during all of this, "Thanks Travis." She said as she pulled away.

They shared a long, meaningful look and then split off to their rooms.

JJ pushed the door open slowly and carefully, almost like she didn't want him to hear her come in. But he did. The moment she stepped inside he turned around, his gaze blank and emotionless like it always was. Or at least how it always was when he was at work.

She walked leisurely towards her chair, sat down and crossed her legs.

"Agent Jareau." He said with his head down looking at her father's file.

JJ narrowed her eyes. How could he not look at her? It only made her angrier, "Agent Hotchner." She spat his name, the anger clear in his voice. She could tell that he chose to ignore it.

"Alright let's get started." Hotch said, looking up and meeting her eyes for the first time. "When was the last time you saw your father?"

"About 5 years ago around Christmas time." She answered smoothly.

Hotch leaned forward, staring straight into her eyes. His face was hard, emotionless, detached. It was exactly what it was supposed to be and she wondered why it hurt her so much to see the blankness in his eyes. He cleared his throat, "And what was the visit like? Did you visit anyone else? Did your dad have any new developments in his life?"

"We went to the Christmas light show in the park and did a lot of shopping at the mall. He seemed pretty normal, maybe a little bit lost…He had been in bad place, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He got through it…and I think seeing the family at Christmas helped him." JJ answered.

Hotch nodded, "What other family members were there?"

"My brothers, my dad's sister and my dad's parents."

"So only your father's family?" Hotch continued without waiting for her to answer, "Did your mom ever visit after she left the family?"

JJ's gaze dropped to the table. This was the one thing that she didn't want to talk about, "Never."

"And why did she leave in the first place? Was it her decision or did they separate?" Hotch asked, narrowing his eyes. He noticed the way her gaze couldn't be lifted off the steel table, he noticed how her posture slouched and he noticed how her voice had the slightest ring of sadness in it. He could tell that she was still grieving over her mother and he wanted to comfort her, but knew that he had to keep things professional.

"We just woke up one day and she was gone. All her stuff was gone. The only reason we knew that she hadn't been abducted or something was because she left behind this note explaining everything." JJ sighed, "If you need to find it…it's in my old room in one of the drawers of my desk."

Hotch nodded and scribbled that down, "And how did you father feel after he found out?" He stared at her.

JJ didn't meet his eyes, only shook her head, "He was devastated." She muttered, trying desperately to keep her cool. She was lying directly to a profiler and it made her extremely nervous, but she had to. She just _had _to. 

Hotch accepted her answer without a second glance, "Did any of you guys ever visit your mother? Did you ever try to find her?"

That made her panic. She didn't want to lie again because she knew he would notice this time…so she just stared down at the table, making sure to keep her face blank. _I don't have to answer, I don't have to answer. This isn't relevant to the case in any way. Just keep your head down and don't say a word. _She told herself.

Hotch eyed her curiously for a few moments until he dismissed her weird behavior as sadness and decided to move on. He glanced down at the file briefly before looking up again, "And I understand that you knew both of the victims?"

JJ nodded quickly, "Yes. The first victim, Regina Port, was my mother's hairdresser when she used to live here with us. I remember that she used to talk about her all the time, I even met her once when she brought me along to an appointment."

Hotch didn't respond to her answer directly, he simply asked another question. "And the second victim?"

"Angela Johnson was one of my friends in college. She lived a next door to me at our dorm and we used to hang out all the time. I even brought her home to meet my family and stay with us over spring break. And before you ask, she did meet my dad once, but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary." JJ explained to him, easily.

Hotch took a moment to think about how to word the next question before he asked it, "Did you ever notice your father…acting awkward around other women? Did he ever date again after your mother left?"

"He didn't date. He told us that he thought someday she would come back. And as for your question about women in general, I didn't really notice anything. He seemed normal, honestly."

Hotch stared at her, his gaze insensitive. "Honestly? We have good reason to believe that your father murdered two women and someone doesn't just wake up and think like that." His voice was harsh, "Is there _anything else _that you could tell me that would help?"

JJ shrugged and met his gaze, "If I think of anything I'll let you know."

His eyes narrowed again, like he didn't believe her. But there was nothing he could do about it right now so he backed off, "Alright I guess we're done then. Would you like to see your father now?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yes I would."

Hotch opened the door for her and pointed out the room that her dad was in before re-entering the interrogation room to look over the files again.

It was obvious to her that he probably didn't want to be around her right now.

And she didn't want to be around him either.

As she was walking towards her father's room she was stopped by Reid, who had concern radiating in his deep hazel eyes. He gave her a half-hearted smile, "How was your interrogation…with Hotch?"

"It was okay. He didn't ask me too much about…you know." She gave him a knowing look.

Reid nodded, "And when he did ask questions about it?"

"I didn't answer one of the big, obvious ones, but for the small ones…I had to lie." JJ looked down at the ground in shame. She was an FBI agent, she knew it was against the law. "I _had _to. There was no way around it, Spence. They can't know."

Reid stepped forward and gave her a quick, tender hug. And while he held her in his embrace and rubbed her back, comfortingly, he whispered in confirmation, "They can't know."

* * *

**"Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction."**

Criss Jami

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry that it took so long for this chapter. I've been pretty busy lately and I'll probably still be busy so it will be a while before the next chapter too. But if you wait it out, I'll make the chapters worth reading. Thanks! And don't forget to review! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**"I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life."**

Maya Angelou

* * *

_JJ loved spending time in the hotel room. As an 11 year-old-girl with no real priorities, she pretty much just sat around and watched TV until her sister would come back and take her out for dinner or lunch, depending on the time. She liked this new independence that she was feeling, it was liberating. _

_One day, a couple weeks into their summer trip, JJ was sitting alone in the hotel room thinking about one of the boys that she had seen at the pool a few days earlier. He had said that he wanted to meet her there again this afternoon to play. And she had to admit that he was fun to play with and wasn't as rough as most of the boys that she had played with before, so going back would be fun. What was his name? Jack? Jackson? Jared? No, Jake. It had definitely been Jake. And he'd had two friends with him. One was a girl named Reese, who seemed nice, but not that interested in making new friends. The other was another boy named Bryce. He was chubby and had that sassy, hilarious attitude that all the chubby kids seemed to have. _

_If she was being brutally honest with herself, she'd have to say that she'd developed a small crush on Jake, just because he had been the first boy to really be nice and sweet towards her. And he was always pretty attractive with short blonde hair, soft hazel eyes and a crooked smile that made dimples appear on his freckled cheeks._

_As the time that they had designated (4:30) drew closer, JJ started to get ready. She easily slipped on the bikini that she would be wearing and checked herself several times in the mirror to make sure that it looked okay. _

_As she did her last sweep of her appearance and concluded that she looked fine, the door of their hotel room opened and her sister stormed into the room. _

_"JJ!" She exclaimed breathlessly, "JJ where are you?" _

_JJ was confused on why her sister was so out of breath and panicked, "I'm in here."_

_Sarah busted through the bathroom doors. "JJ, you'll never guess what happened to me today!" She looked JJ up and down, "Wait…why are you in your bathing suit?"_

_"I was just going down to the pool to meet up with some of my friends." JJ answered, picking up the towel that had been lying on the toilet. _

_Sarah smiled brightly, "You made friends here?" But before JJ could even answer, Sarah spoke again, "Wait I was telling you something. You'll never guess what happened to me today, Jayje. I was walking through downtown when I stopped at a hair salon and just like every other place I went to, I asked if they knew mom. I expected her to blow me off like everyone else, but she didn't. She was mom's new hairdresser and she told me all about her! She said that she lived on Hampton Street. We can go visit her, right now!"_

_JJ's mouth dropped open in surprise. Her sister had actually found their mom. That was the best news that she had heard in months, "So…I'm not going to the pool?"_

_Sarah laughed and shook her head, "You're not going to the pool. Tell your friends you'll go tomorrow because tonight, we have a mom to find." She picked up her purse and lead JJ out of the hotel. They drove down the street in search of their mother with their smiles big and their hopes high._

* * *

JJ stopped in front of the door. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest and she had an odd sinking feeling in her stomach that made her want to throw up.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Travis asked from behind her. He sounded hesitant, "We can come in with you if it makes you feel any better."

Cole nodded in agreement, "You don't have to do it alone."

JJ closed her eyes for a few seconds to gather up enough confidence to do this, "No. I want to go in…alone." She stated, her voice emotionless.

Her brothers backed off at that, knowing how stubborn their sister could be. They both told her goodbye and good luck before walking off to where they would be watching on the other side of the two way mirror.

JJ took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that her father was a criminal. She knew the case and the evidence they had against him, but she still had a weird feeling that he might be innocent…and she didn't want to feel that way. It only set her up to be disappointment. Quickly, she searched her mind for any kind of memory that would help her push away those thoughts.

* * *

_Sarah parked the car in the driveway of a small suburban home. It was white one story house with dark blue shudders and a dark blue door to match. They both smiled when they saw it because they knew that inside, they would find their mother. _

_JJ opened her car door and started to get out of the car, but when she glanced behind her she realized that Sarah hadn't moved. "Sarah?" She asked, confused. _

_Her sister blinked and turned to meet JJ's eyes. She looked uncertain, tentative, and maybe even a little bit scared. _

_"What's wrong?" JJ asked, getting back into the car and shutting the door. _

_Sarah looked away from her sister and stared at the house, "Oh it's nothing…I just…nevermind. It's nothing, really." She got out of the car, leaving JJ wondering why she was hesitating so much. _

_Years later when JJ looked back on this memory, she would realize that her sister had been hesitating so much because a voice in the back of her head was telling her that their mother might not be the same, that she might not want to see them. _

_She should have listened to it. _

_They walked up the sidewalk together, holding hands. This was a big moment and they both knew it, they both felt it. Sarah was the one who rang the doorbell. They sound of footsteps neared the door and both of the girls held their breath. _

_To their surprise, instead of their mother opening the door, a small boy…about the same age as JJ opened the door. He smiled up at them with a big, friendly smile. "Hi!"_

_JJ wasn't sure how to respond. She glanced at her sister, but she seemed just as stunned. "Um…hi." JJ met the boy's eyes. _

_"Who are you?" He tilted his head. _

_Before either of them could answer him, a woman pulled the door open even further. "Grant…what did I tell you about opening the door?" Her eyes were down on the boy. _

_"I should wait for you…" Grant muttered, rolling his eyes. _

_The woman looked up at them. Almost immediately, her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. _

_It was their mom. _

_Without saying anything to the small boy in front of her, she stepped outside and shut the door quickly behind her. "How did you…? What…what are you two doing here?" She asked. _

_JJ was silent, staring at her mom in shock. She didn't seem very welcoming towards them at all. If anything, she seemed hostile and unwelcoming. _

_Sarah spoke up, seeming a little bit shocked herself. "We…uhh…we've been looking for you ever since you left, or I have. And I brought JJ along because dad…he isn't…he doesn't…we just…we need you. We need our mom." Tears sprung to her eyes, "That's what we came for…we came because we need you."_

_The look in their mother's eyes was heart-breaking. There was nothing there. No emotion or reaction to what her daughter was saying. For a moment, she closed her eyes and sighed lightly as if she were irritated for some reason. "Sarah…I've moved on. I've re-married and I have a new family. Your father should do the same." She met Sarah's eyes, "You were always looking after JJ. You still are and you always will. You don't need me."_

_Sarah tilted her head, tears streaming down her face. This was one of the rare times that JJ saw her older sister crying and it wasn't something she ever wanted to see again, "So you're turning us away? You're turning your daughters away?"_

_JJ felt tears running down her cheeks before she even knew that she was crying. Before her mom could answer, she blurted out the only question that she wanted to know the answer to. "Why did you leave?"_

_Two sets of eyes stared down on her. "Because I wasn't happy with your father. Everyone deserves a chance at true love, Jen."_

_"It's JJ." She muttered bitterly. _

_Sarah narrowed her eyes, "You left for true love? I never knew that a mother could be awful enough to abandon her children just for the sake of 'love'." She challenged, searching her mother's eyes, "That's not why you left. Just tell us and we'll leave you and your __**brand new**__ family alone."_

_Their mother shook her head, "I didn't love your father."_

_"But why did you leave? I always knew you didn't love him, but you could have gotten a divorce, joint custody, something! But you took the easy way out and you left. Why? Why. Did. You. Leave?" Sarah asked punctually._

_She didn't say anything. _

_So Sarah kept pushing, "Tell me! Tell me why you left!" She yelled. _

_Their mother still stayed silent. _

_"You were always a coward! You never stood up for me or for Travis or for anyone! You only cared about yourself! Selfish, that's what you are! You're selfish!" Sarah yelled, her face reddening. "That's why you left…because you only care about yourself." She spat before spinning around on her heels and walking down the sidewalk. _

_JJ stared at her mom for a couple seconds longer and then turned to follow her sister. Just as she stepped off the porch, their mother stepped off after her. _

_"That's not why I left." _

_Sarah whipped around, her hair flying behind her. "Then why?! Why did you leave?" She yelled, obviously still furious. _

_JJ saw her mother flinch just before she spoke, "I left because…your father made me. He threatened me, yelled at me and told me to leave town and never come back. He said if I even tried to contact any of you, he would find me…I still get letters from him, reminding me…mocking me. I missed you kids, but I had to move on and now I can't lose them either."_

_Sarah paused, considering if she was telling the truth or not. "He…he made you?" She started walking back towards JJ and their mom. _

_She nodded, "He made me…he's not what you think he is. He's no father to you, he's a monster and he always has been."_

* * *

That memory easily gave her the courage that she needed to go in and face him. She was just about to push the door open when she heard someone walking up behind her. When she turned around, she found herself face to face with Hotch.

He stared down at her, but didn't say anything.

JJ wanted to snap at him or roll her eyes, but she held back. "What do you need?"

Hotch cleared his throat slowly, "I'm going in with you."

She wasn't going to let that one go. "Uh…no you're not."

"Yes I am, JJ. You really didn't think you'd be allowed to go in there by yourself, did you? You're biased. I have to supervise and try to get some answers myself." He answered.

JJ sighed exasperatedly, "Why is always you? Don't you get that I don't want to see you right now?" She snapped a little more harshly then she meant to, but she did have every right to be cross with him after everything that had happened.

Hotch nodded, "I know…but Rossi, Morgan and Reid are interviewing parents while Emily is in the other room watching in the room with your brothers. So I'm just here to help."

"I don't want your help."

"Well, I'm not leaving so you're just going to have to deal with it. It's about time that you stop being so stubborn and accept help when people give it to you, even if you don't need it."

JJ bit her tongue, trying not to say some of the things that she really wanted to. "I just…don't want it from you."

Hotch sighed, "I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry about what I said and I know that was probably the worst time for me to say it too. You needed me and I wasn't there, so I'm sorry. Can't you forgive me?"

JJ almost considered it until she remembered that he had insulted her family…to her face. That wasn't something she could forgive lightly, "I'll tolerate you, but…I still don't forgive you for what you said."

"Well that's a start…" Hotch muttered, half-heartedly. Obviously, he didn't get the response that he had been expecting.

"Alright, well, let's go in then." JJ pushed the door open confidently and walked in with her head held high.

In the next room, on the other side of the two-way mirror, Cole, Travis and Emily stood side by side, watching.

"He looks so calm." Travis muttered, shaking his head.

Emily nodded, "Almost too calm…" She thought out loud.

Travis looked at Cole, "Maybe JJ was right. Maybe there is a chance that he could be innocent. I mean, he's our dad for god's sakes. We should have stood by him." He sighed and dropped down into his chair.

Cole didn't look at him, "You don't really believe that do you? He's a monster."

"That's what you believe, Cole. And I know this is hard for you to comprehend, but not everyone agrees with you." Travis retorted quickly, like they'd already had this type of argument between each other before.

"I don't want you to agree with me, I just want you to consider what I'm saying. We all know what he did and what he's capable of…so think about that when you're deciding how "innocent" he really is." Cole said, but it only made Travis even angrier.

"Whatever. You're hopeless." He stormed away from his brother and out the door, slamming it behind him.

Inside the interviewing room, JJ and Hotch both heard the door slamming from the other room. There was an awkward silence as they wondered what was going on in the other room, but her father quickly broke the silence.

"Jennifer." Her father stood up with a big smile on his face, "I haven't seen you in forever. You look great, how have you been doing?"

Cole shook his head and looked at Emily as he spoke, "I can't believe he has the nerve to talk to her like this is some sort of…_family reunion._" He spat the last words with disgust.

Emily stared forward without giving an answer, not wanting to seem biased.

JJ sat down in front of her father, but Hotch was the one who replied to him first. "You're talking to me, not her. You ask her questions, she can reply, but she doesn't have to. I ask you or she asks you questions, you have to reply. As for asking me questions, there will be none of that. Are we clear?"

Cole nodded approvingly at Hotch.

Michael Jareau sat forward, not taking his eyes off of JJ. "And you're in the FBI again. You never told any of us that, but I'm just glad you're happy and I'm proud of what you're doing for people, even now." He dropped his eyes to the table.

JJ stared at him, her eyes chillingly cold.

"Are we clear?" Hotch asked a little more forcefully than the first time. He put his hand down on the table in front of Michael.

He lifted his eyes at that, "Yes."

Hotch nodded, pulled his arm back and started circling the table. He stopped when he was directly behind Michael, "How did you know the victims, Mr. Jareau?" He asked casually.

He cleared his throat, "I knew Elaine Rickets from the hair salon near my house. Sweet girl, she used to be my ex-wife's hairdresser and she was applying for a job at my restaurant. In fact, I was going to give her the job too…as a waitress. Kailee Luna was a friend of Jennifer's and also my doctor. She specialized in helping me with Chronic Bronchitis."

Hotch nodded thoughtfully, as if he were thinking it over. "Now, I understand you are familiar with law enforcement, correct?"

"I suppose so."

"So when a man is directly connected with two victims, is the last to see them alive and has DNA that is under one of their fingernails…what do you think we're going to expect? Can you explain any of these circumstances?" Hotch asked him.

Michael Jareau's face was blank, emotionless. He didn't answer the question.

Cole watched his father, shaking his head. "He's ashamed, you can see it on his face…" He muttered indignantly.

"Answer the question!" Hotch exclaimed, coming around the table to stare Michael right in the face. Their faces were inches apart and they just stared at each other, neither close to backing down.

Eventually, Michael broke away from Hotch's stare and turned his attention to JJ once again. "Jen, can you just talk to me, please? I just want to know where your head is…and what you're feeling, that's all." He pleaded.

Cole rolled his eyes, "He acts like she owes him or something..."

But JJ didn't see that at all. She just saw her old dad, staring at her, asking for her reason and she was going to give it to him…not because she was giving in or because he had gotten to her, but only because she wanted him to know where she stood. She wanted him to know how she felt about all of this.

"I will talk to you, but this is how it's going to work. I talk, you listen." JJ started and when he nodded she carried on, "You are my dad. Knowing that, you know that I love you, but you should also know that this means I know what you're capable of. I lived under the same roof as you for years and don't forget that I know things that I shouldn't have known at an age so young. The beginning of my teenage years was, by far, the worst time of my life and most of it was because of you, but I forgave you. Now, I'm not sure that I can. What you did is unforgivable, but…saying that, it leads me to my next thing. There's so much evidence against you, so much _compelling_ evidence against you that it's almost impossible that you're innocent. But the thing is…I still think you are. I really, _really _want to believe that you're innocent and that I can forgive and that you just might still be the dad that I always knew." She paused, "I want you to be innocent and I believe that you would be in a perfect world. But the thing is…that isn't the kind of world we live in."

Michael listened, nodding along to everything she was saying and when she finished, a slightest hint of a smile appeared on his face. "That's all I wanted…" Tears came to his eyes, but he wiped them away before they even fell.

"Well…you got it." JJ stood up with a long sigh, "Come on Hotch…let's go, he's obviously not going to admit to anything."

Michael grabbed onto her wrist, not letting her leave. "Wait," he said, "I'm only not admitting to anything because I didn't do it, Jen."

JJ leaned down and stared him straight in the eyes, "Prove it." She challenged while turning around and starting to leave again.

"I have an alibi!" He called just as they reached the door.

JJ turned around, not sure that she heard him correctly. "What?"

"I…have alibis for both of the nights that those girls were murdered." He repeated slowly, clearly.

JJ shook her head, "No you don't…you can't."

Michael nodded thoroughly, "I really do…ask my lawyer."

"Since when? Do you realize how big of a deal that is? Why didn't you tell anyone earlier?!" JJ exclaimed, incredulously.

Michael gave her a small smile before he answered. "I had to know what you thought of me first. I already know what Travis and Cole think, but you…I had to know if you thought I was innocent or guilty. And if you thought I was guilty I would have stayed guilty because if there was a reason that you thought that I was that bad of a person, then I probably would have deserved to be jail anyway."

JJ shook her head, "That's so…dangerous. What if I had thought you were guilty? You would have gone to jail, dad!"

"I trust you, I always have. And I'm glad to know that you trust me too." Michael's eyes started swimming for the second time and he stood up to give JJ a quick hug.

And after that, she left the room with Hotch, feeling confused, shocked and strangely relieved.

* * *

**"He who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly."**

B.C. Forbes

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks everyone for reading this and just so you know...that's only the beginning of the secret, there's still more to come so don't get bored. I'm trying to update as quick as I can, but school started again and I'm taking all honors plus an AP class so I'll be busy. Don't forget to review! :)


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long. I've been super busy lately, but I'll be better and I think this chapter was worth wait...just make sure you read it carefully. ;) Don't forget to review! **

* * *

**"Would you like to know your future? If your answer is yes, think again. Not knowing is the greatest life motivator. So enjoy, endure, survive each moment as it comes to you in its proper sequence - a surprise."**

Vera Nazarian

* * *

He walked down the street, knowing…he knew that the time was coming. They would figure it out soon, they would figure out Michael Jareau's innocence and then it would be his time to shine. So before they put the pieces together, he had to act.

First, he put on his best suit, a slim cut grey suit with a collared striped shirt underneath it. He smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror. Some would think that when planning something like this, you wouldn't have to think about appearance.

They would be entirely incorrect.

He smoothed back his hair with a smooth, scented gel. It made him look slick, dashing. It made him look just like the friendly person that he was going to pretend to be. Right before he left the house, gun strapped to his belt, he grabbed his last accessory.

A slick, grey cowboy hat.

* * *

**Back at the police station**

JJ walked out of the interrogation room and huffed, sitting down in the nearest chair that she saw. Across from her, Hotch eased himself into the chair on the other side of the desk. He gave her a somewhat comforting smile, except for the fact that it looked totally unnatural. So much so that she almost smiled herself.

He must have seen the amusement in her eyes because his smile quickly faded, "What?"

She shook her head without giving him an answer.

Hotch looked puzzled for a few moments until something more important came to mind, "Do you think that your father really has an alibi?"

JJ shrugged, "Why would he lie about something that he didn't have the evidence to back up?" She countered.

"Fair enough." He nodded and cleared his throat, "Listen…you were right. Your father isn't a monster or a murderer or any of the other things that I said. I'm sorry about all of that stuff, I was totally out of line. And I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I just hope you'll consider giving me another chance…to be there for you."

JJ thought about his words, thinking they sounded sincere, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to give in just yet. She had to make sure that he knew what he did was wrong and that it really hurt her, "What you said was wrong and it might take time for me to get over it…but eventually I'll forgive you. It's just…right now isn't a good time." She met his eyes.

Hotch nodded and gave her a small smile, "I understand." He stood up. "I'll give you your space…" He started to walk away.

She felt a little weird, almost like she wanted to call him back to stay and sit with her, and she would have if Travis hadn't clamped a hand on her shoulder and sat down on the desk in front of her where Hotch had just been sitting. "You okay?"

JJ smiled and shrugged, "I'm fine."

"Good, good." Travis stared intently, trying to get a read on her. "Cole and I are worried about you Jayje. I hate to bring this up right now, but…it's almost like you're facing this head-on without us. We came to help _you _JJ, and that's the only reason we came. It's just hard for me to understand why you're so hesitant to get help from someone."

JJ lifted her eyes to meet her brother's. "I'm sorry…I'll try to be more including…?" She muttered, "Can we talk about this later? I need to get some fresh air."

"Want some company?"

JJ gave him a small smile and stood up, "I think before you say that you and Cole wanted to be included in this, you need to make sure things are patched up with him first." She rubbed his shoulder as she walked by and then headed out the front doors.

The cool air felt good. The first gust of it making contact with her skin gave her an intoxicating feeling that made goose bumps appear on her arms. Stuffing her hands into her coat pockets, she took a seat on the bench.

Thoughts raced through her mind quicker than she could process them. Her father might be innocent, or he might not be. His alibi could turn out to be invalid and he could end up a criminal after all. The worst thing was that there was nothing she could do either way, she was a bystander…and it didn't feel good. She felt useless, out of touch…and alone.

She leaned forward and put her face in her cold hands, oddly, it felt good to have the coldness of her palms touch her warm cheeks.

A few seconds later, JJ felt another person sit down on the bench next to her. She felt the pant leg of a suit brush her bare leg and for a moment she thought that it might be one of her brothers, but when she saw the perfectly shined dress shoes, she knew exactly who was sitting next to her.

Reluctantly, she lifted her head to see Hotch sitting there next to her. He didn't look at her when she moved. It seemed that he was deep into his own thoughts as well. She looked away from him and then leaned back against the bench again.

There was silence, neither of them spoke, neither of them wanted to speak. It was a mutually-needed silence that together they shared. Both of them stared into the foggy haze ahead of them, thinking, wondering and contemplating what to do next.

It was JJ who broke the long silence, "It's hard…" She muttered, "Being on this side of a case…it's hard."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him turn his head to look at her, but she didn't meet his eyes…she couldn't right now. Her eyes would give away her every thought and she knew it, so she kept her stare to the ground.

The only thing she could think of was her father's innocence and how it had to be that way, how she _needed _it to be that way so she could keep what she had left of a family together.

Without offering a word of comfort, Hotch scooted a little bit closer to her and slid his hand over hers, intertwining their fingers.

JJ looked down at his hand. Its warmth engulfed her, distracted her.

They sat there like that together until she finally pulled her hand away and stood up. Before walking away, she turned back towards him. "Aaron…" she began, "Thank you."

He gave her a nod and a small smile before getting to his feet and following her back into the building. When they re-entered they were met by the rest of the team.

Reid was in the front, his eyes were on Hotch, but he was speaking mostly to JJ. "The department just checked and his alibi checks out, there's no way he could have murdered either of those girls." He told them.

Relief washed through her as she heard the news. It felt good to know that her family wasn't completely at the center of the investigation anymore.

"But that means we no longer have a suspect, so we have no idea who the unsub could be or why they would have tried to frame Michael for the murders." Morgan cut in inquisitively.

"Okay here's what we're going to do: Prentiss and Reid, I want you two to question Michael again and see if he has any idea who it could be. Morgan and Rossi, you two go to the dump sites and try and get specifics about our unsub's MO. I'm going to stay here and get on the phone with Garcia to try and narrow down a suspect pool. Lastly, JJ, you need to have a talk with your brothers. Try and get some information and find common ground. If we want to find who did this we're going to need all of you to help without any fighting. Alright? Everyone know where they're going?" Hotch looked at his team.

Without a word of protest or question, they each split off to go to their different assignments.

JJ took in a deep breath and glanced back at Hotch, "Good luck." She told him with a small smile.

Hotch started to smile, but it quickly faded when he remembered that he had work to do. He nodded at her again, but was only left to wonder if that was too little of a gesture to give her. He felt like she would think he didn't care, but he did. If he had time later, he would talk to her and make sure she knew, for now he had a case to work on.

He entered an empty conference room with the evidence board in it. He hated seeing JJ's face tacked to the board, it felt unreal, not to mention unnecessary. There was no way she could have done this…

He paused to question that for a few moments, but then came to the same conclusion. There was no way that she could have done this. So why did her picture have to be tacked up there where countless murderers and psychopaths had been tacked before?

He sipped his coffee, dropped that subject, and dialed their technical analyst's number. She answered on the second ring.

Her voice chimed out almost immediately after she answered, "Finally! Someone called, I was just getting worried that maybe something had happened or that you had found something without me."

Hotch didn't say anything at first. He was glad to hear someone being cheerful, "Garcia." He acknowledged.

Garcia's voice gained a more serious tone, "Tell me Boss Man…how's my girl doing? Give me some good news…" she pleaded.

Hotch paused before answering her, "JJ's father has an alibi for the murders, but that means he was framed by someone else…a new unsub. She was pretty shaken up before talking to her father, but I think she patched things up a little bit…as much as someone can at a time like this. I think she's okay now though, I gave her a break to kind of regroup with her brothers."

"That's good, probably what she needs, even though she'll never admit it." Garcia let out a small sigh before continuing, "Anyway…what can I do for you?"

Hotch went on to give Garcia plenty of parameters to use to narrow down their list of suspects.

Meanwhile, in the parking lot, at the very bench she had been sitting at with Hotch before, JJ was sitting waiting for her brothers to come out. They had agreed to go for lunch at noon. She glanced down at her watch, it was 12:10. Just as she started to wonder if maybe they had gotten caught up with something, Cole walked out of the building.

He plopped down on the bench next to her. At first, he didn't say anything, but after a few seconds he looked over at his sister, "You were right." He smiled and nodded.

JJ met his eyes and returned his smile, "I always am." She joked lightly, "Where's Travis? I'm starving and we need to have a talk."

"Who put you in charge? If I remember correctly…I'm three years older than you." Cole raised his eyebrow.

"What do you mean: 'If you remember correctly', you're three years older than me and you should remember that perfectly." JJ rolled her eyes, "I just think we need to talk about what's going on. I talked to Travis earlier, but we need to talk _together._"

Cole nodded slowly, "I agree." He paused, "Travis and I did get into an argument before you went in with dad. He defended him and I…didn't so he left. I didn't think he was that mad though. I might have underestimated it." He shrugged.

JJ sighed and shook her head, "Why do you guys always have to be so difficult?"

"It's a man thing." Cole chuckled, "If I'm being honest thought I think you have more guts than the both of us…combined. Neither of us even wanted to come down here and see him, let alone face him one on one." He smiled.

JJ scooted closer and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here." She said softly, "Both of you."

Cole squeezed her tightly, "Me too."

"Well isn't this a sight? A brother and sister actually getting along, so cute. I wish I had my camera." Travis came out from the building suddenly with a huge smile on his face, "Are you guys ready to eat or what? My stomach has been growling since I walked in this morning!"

JJ and Cole exchanged a look between them and stood up, both smiling the same big smile that their big brother had.

"I'll take that as a yes." Travis twirled his keys between his fingers and headed for his car while Cole and JJ followed. Travis drove while Cole got into the passenger's seat and JJ got in the back, just like when they were kids.

"Listen Travis…" Cole started as they pulled onto the main road, "I'm sorry about earlier. I was being stubborn and defensive when I shouldn't have been and…turns out you were right…and I was wrong. So I'm sorry about everything I said, are we good?"

They were stopped at a stoplight so Travis extended his hand out to Cole, "We're good bro." And then they shared a quick, little hug over the center console before the light turned green and Travis continued driving.

It only took 15 minutes to get to restaurant that they were going to eat at. It was a small diner that they had always gone to as a family; it was almost like a tradition.

When they walked in, they were greeted warmly by the staff, which they were family friends with. It was a small town so they were pretty much family friends with everyone. As Travis and Cole got re-acquainted with them, JJ wandered around the corner to where they had a wall with a serious of smiling pictures on it. She looked up at the top at a picture of a small boy. Underneath the photo, it said that his name was Josh. He had died of leukemia just after his 7th birthday. Glued underneath his picture was a note from his family that just had a bible quote written on it. Her eyes were swimming before she even got halfway down the wall.

She wasn't sure why, but every time that she visited the diner, she always went to that wall. The people on it had been good people, pure people and they deserved to be remembered, even if it was by someone that didn't even know them.

A couple of rows down she recognized a boy that she had known from high school named Logan. He was a firefighter and had died in a local fire after one of the beams had collapsed on him. In his picture, he looked happy, almost amused. There were two notes under his picture, one from his parents and the other from his wife and daughter. _I miss you Daddy_ was written on one of them in a little girl's handwriting, probably his daughter's.

Just above Logan's picture, she saw it. The thing that had introduced her to that wall and to the horrors of the world. There, nailed to the wall, was a smiling picture of her sister. She smiled a little bit when she first saw it. Her sister's smile had always been contagious, especially in that picture. It was easy to tell that she had been laughing, at what, JJ couldn't remember. It was just nice to remember her. It had been so long that she had almost forgotten what she looked like, what her voice sounded like, even how she acted. It was sad for her to think about her like that, but it was true.

Her eyes went below the picture where there were notes written. There was one from her dad that just said: _We'll never forget. _Travis and Cole had written theirs together: _We love you and miss you. Bye Sarah. _And then…nothing.

JJ hadn't written anything.

She even remembered that day. Everyone sat at a table, going around saying what they had loved about her and would miss about her. But she had been silent. They wrote their notes, but she didn't move.

There had been no words to describe how she felt. To have someone so close to you just gone…suddenly, there was no way to comprehend it. She watched them post their notes on the wall, but she never returned to write her own.

"The wall, huh?" Travis sauntered into the room slowly, hesitantly. He walked over to JJ and saw Sarah's picture, instead of his smile fading, it just widened.

JJ looked up at him, "I still miss her sometimes…" She smiled half-heartedly. "But then I think that she's happier wherever she is."

Travis nodded, "I'd like to think that." He put his arm around JJ. "I miss her sometimes too, like on her birthday, or on Christmas or Thanksgiving. There's always been an emptiness, you know? I still feel like she's here though."

JJ closed her eyes, a smile on her face. "Come on," she said, "let's go eat."

Travis followed her back into the room where they both saw Cole already sitting at the table with the menu sitting in front of him. He lifted his eyes for a few seconds and then spotted them, "Where ya been?!" He asked, "I've been ready to order forever!"

JJ gave him a small smile, "The wall…" She told him as she sat down and picked up the menu.

Cole's smile shrank, but didn't fully go away. "I could've come with you." He looked at her.

"It's okay Cole, it's fine." JJ looked down at the menu and after a few seconds of silence as they read through the menu, the mood changed.

"So what're you guys getting?" Travis asked sitting forward.

JJ smiled, "The Philly Cheese Steak."

"Very original, love it." Travis grinned and then shifted his eyes to Cole.

"Double steak burger. Mmmm!" Cole had a wide smile on his face.

Both Travis and JJ chuckled before JJ looked at Travis, "And what are you getting?"

"The Caesar Salad." Travis said slowly, glancing down at the menu.

JJ whipped her head to look at Cole, who had the same shocked look on his face that she had on hers. "What?" She asked, her eyes wide. This was a diner, not some fancy restaurant and she knew that Travis wasn't on a diet, or was he?

Travis looked up and held their gazes with a small shrug.

"Why? None of us have ever gotten the Caesar Salad before, you don't even know if it's gonna be good or not!" Cole exclaimed like it was a huge deal.

Travis cracked a smile, which then lead to a bout of laughter. "I was kidding! Oh you two know me so well….Anyway, hmm. I think I'm gonna get the bacon cheeseburger."

"There it is. I was getting worried!" Cole exclaimed, laughing.

And then the waitress came to their table and took their order. Once they were done, they spent some time talking together, mostly joking and talking about stories they remembered as kids, but as theirfood arrived and one by one they finished their meals, their talk got more serious.

"So where do you two stand?" JJ asked, looking from Cole to Travis.

Travis spoke first as always, "I still think he's innocent and I definitely want to be on his side. He deserves that much from us after we didn't even both to come to his defense the first time he asked."

Cole nodded in agreement.

JJ slowly nodded too, "Okay…" Her voice lowered, "What about…you know? Is that still…off the table?"

Travis and Cole exchanged a look before both nodding at the same time. "Still off the table, definintely. We've already raised enough suspicion, they don't need to know that…it's not…relevant." Cole said.

"It might be…"JJ added.

Travis shook his head, "But until we know for sure if it's gonna help or not, we don't say anything. Everyone got it?" He looked from his brother to his sister for some kind of acknowledgement.

They both nodded.

"Good."

JJ smiled, breaking the tension. "Well then, are you guys ready to get back to the police station?"

Travis nodded and they all stood up, but before any of them could move to leave the diner, a voice came from behind them.

"And where do you think you're goin'?"

JJ recognized that familiar country accent; it was the man she had met in the elevator. She couldn't remember his name at first, but when she turned around she immediately remembered it: Carson. He had a crooked smile on his face.

"Carson?" JJ smiled at him, "What are you doing here?"

He grinned, showing all of his polished teeth, "I'm staying with my aunt and she told me that this diner was the best one in town." He looked at her, "And now I have to believe it's true."

"Well if you're staying with your aunt…why were you in the hotel?" JJ tilted her head.

Carson smiled, "My partner is stayin' in the hotel and she told me to meet her in the lobby that mornin' so we could hopefully meet some FBI agents when they came down. You left right before she came down."

"That's lucky."

He chuckled, "Sure is." He glanced at the two men behind her.

"Oh," JJ chuckled, "these are my brothers Travis and Cole. And guys, this is Carson. I met him in the hotel the first morning we were staying there."

Carson shook each of their hands firmly, "It's nice to meet you two. As a matter of fact, I just came for some take out from here…" He held up his bag of food, "And my aunt owns this bar down the street. Would you guys want to come take a break from the pressin' FBI life for a while?"

JJ looked back at her brothers, neither of them said anything. They seemed hesitant because of how pressing the case that they were involved in was. They didn't want to miss anything important.

"There's a pool table and darts." Carson added with a big smile.

A grin appeared on Cole's face, "I'm in." He said and Travis nodded approvingly with his brother.

"Lead the way, we'll follow you." Travis added.

Carson nodded and they all walked out of the restaurant together.

The cowboy straightened his sleek grey suit as he walked towards his car, unbuttoning a few buttons so that his white-striped collared shirt was showing a little bit more. He stopped at the door of his car before getting in so that he could catch JJ's eye just before she got into the car with her brothers. When their eyes met, he tipped his dark grey cowboy hat at her, winked and then climbed into his car. Once inside, he was unable to keep the wide grin from spreading onto his face.

* * *

"Always sleep with one eye open. Never take anything for granted. Your best friends might just be your enemies."

**Sara** **Shepherd**


	9. Chapter 9

"The villains were always ugly in books and movies. Necessarily so, it seemed. Because if they were attractive—if their looks matched their charm and their cunning—they wouldn't only be dangerous.

They would be _irresistible_."

**Nenia Campbell**

* * *

The first thing that she became aware of was the horrible pounding in her head. Wave after wave of pain was surging through her head and it was almost too much for her to handle, but luckily after a few moments she realized that it was fading. For that, she was thankful and only when the pain was finally bearable did she started to open her eyes.

The room was bright; it felt like an examination room of sorts with the large white lights on the ceiling that reflected radiantly off of the pristine white walls. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust, but once they did it only made her realize that she was alone in the room.

"Hello?" She called instinctively as if someone could hear her, it may not have been the best idea, but she was still a little bit groggy from waking up. Her throat was dry causing her voice to take on a raspy quality like someone who had a cold.

Only then did she realize that her arms and legs were bound to the wooden chair that she was sitting in. That only caused her more panic, she struggled restlessly, but was unable to even loosen the ropes that were rubbing against her wrists making her skin red and irritated underneath them.

Trying to get past her throbbing head, JJ went over the last things she remembered before blacking out.

_They walked into the bar with Carson, who looked mischievously happy. JJ had just assumed it was because he was hanging out with an FBI agent. They met his aunt when they first got there. She was a nice woman, a very proud Pennsylvania, wanting to tell them the history and origin of the bar they were standing in. _

_Luckily, before his aunt could launch into the founders, they were saved by Carson asking if they wanted to play darts before. That was something they were all excited to do and after just one game, throwing darts and taking drinks, almost all of them were drunk._

_All of them except for JJ. She had decided not to drink because she was on the job and also because they needed a designated driver to get them back to the hotel at least._

_She remembered feeling weird, like that "off" feeling that she always had when she was drunk. A lightheadedness followed and she recalled telling her brothers that she didn't feel good and was going to sit down. She seated herself at one of the tables and closed her eyes. _

And then she woke up in this room. For a moment she considered that maybe she had been arrested, but then she realized that they didn't tie people down when they get arrested. Her next thought was that maybe someone had put something in her drink, but the only thing that she'd had to drink was bottled water. Still, she could have been drugged. She wondered if maybe this was part of some drug cartel in Pennsylvania that she hadn't heard about.

"Hello?" She tried again, her throat feeling better.

She heard a noise coming from her left and looked over at that wall, noticing a door. The handle was turning painstakingly slow. After what seemed like forever, the door was pushed open to reveal a man standing in the doorway. She recognized him immediately:

Carson.

He had a casual smirk on his face, "How ya feelin' hun?"

She glared at him, eyes flashing.

"Pretty good I take it. Those drugs probably didn't cause too many side effects." Carson chuckled, "Well now that you're finally awake, why don't we get formally acquainted?"

"Why are you doing this?"

Carson's smile faded when he was interrupted. He stepped closer to her with their faces inches apart. "Look close. Do you recognize me?"

JJ stared at him. He had dark blue eyes, freckles along his cheeks and the bridge of his noise and lastly he had dimples on his cheeks. But the thing that really tipped her off was his teeth. They were perfectly white. She'd seen that smile before

"You…" She whispered, "I…can't…."

Carson pulled back, shoving her chair slightly. "You look just like your mom, JJ. I always thought you were pretty, but you were off limits…inaccessible. Now, we're grown and you're still as pretty as I remember, except unlike before…there's no one here to tell me no."

He got even closer than before and she could feel his breath on her neck.

And just then did she remember who he was.

"Wait! Wait! I remember you. You're Grant, you're the kid who was part of my mom's step family." JJ said, "But I don't know why you're doing this…We'd only met once, back when we were kids."

Carson pulled away from her, standing back, obviously pleased. He paused, gaining a more solemn expression, "I'm sorry about your mom, JJ. I really am. I'm sorry that she left your sorry excuse for a dad to come and live with my family without so much as looking back. I'm sorry that the only time she returned was the day that your sister died and I'm sorry that she died in the way that she did."

"Don't talk about her like you knew her." JJ snapped, her eyes blazing with a new fire.

Carson chuckled a little bit, unaffected by her sudden anger. "Why are you defending her? You and I both know who she was, what she was."

JJ felt tears wanting to spring from her eyes at the mention of it…at the mention of the thing that she and her brothers had desperately tried to avoid.

"I bet you're wondering how I know." Carson grinned, "You'd be surprised how easy it is to listen in on phone calls. Ring a bell?" He chuckled at his own pun.

JJ glared at him, unwaveringly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do know that withholding information makes you an accomplice and just as guilty as the person who did it." Carson raised an eyebrow.

"I'm aware."

Carson tilted his head, "Then why would you do it? What's so important about keeping this secret?"

JJ didn't meet his eyes, "You wouldn't understand."

"Enlighten me."

JJ shook her head and sat back in the chair, staying silent for a few minutes before asking, "Where are my brothers? What did you do with them?"

"Always thinking ahead," Carson smiled, "I like that." He reached forward and spun her chair around to the wall that was behind her. On it, she saw a two way mirror. On their side of the mirror, they could see all the way through to where her brothers were tied up.

They both looked fine except for a black eye on Cole's face. She assumed that he was probably more defiant than Travis had been.

"What do you want?" JJ asked without taking her eyes off of her brothers in the other room.

Carson turned her back around to face him, "The answer to that is simple. You."

"Has anyone heard from JJ and her brothers? They went to lunch at some diner a couple hours ago and they haven't been back yet…" Hotch asked, looking around at the other team members who had already regrouped and shared their information already.

Morgan looked up, "How long have they been gone?"

"Approximately 4 hours and 46 minutes. And if my calculations are correct, it would have taken them 30 minutes to get to the diner. So they should have been back at least 2 hours ago." Reid explained.

Emily shrugged, "Maybe they just decided to go home and get some sleep."

Hotch shook his head, "JJ would have called or texted or something. Someone should go check on them and report back just to be sure. With all the stuff happening with their family, we don't want any surprises."

Emily and Morgan volunteered. After about an hour or so, Hotch received a call from Morgan's phone. He hoped he would hear that JJ and her brothers has gone out for a drink and lost track of time or something like that, but he had a weird feeling that something was wrong.

"Hotch." Morgan immediately started talking when Hotch answered, "Something happened and it's bad. We aren't sure where they are or what happened or why, but they…someone…took them. There was this bar and-"

"Wait Morgan, slow down. What happened?"

Morgan let out a couple of stressed breaths, "We went to the diner and they weren't there so we asked one of the ladies working if she knew anything and she said that they left with some guy that showed up as they were leaving. She described him as a blonde man, wearing a grey suit. She remembered him asking them if they wanted to go to his bar so we decided to try and check out a couple of bars in the area. There was an SUV with FBI plates parked outside one of them so we went inside. It was completely empty. The only thing in there was a wallet sitting on the table…with JJ's ID in it."

Hotch's heart dropped. He wasn't sure how to respond, he just kept swallowing over and over in an effort to try and get words out of his mouth.

"Hotch?"

He gulped one last time, "Stay there. I'll send squad cars to meet you out there. Don't touch anything or move anything. That is now a crime scene." With that, he hung up and dispatched a couple of patrol cars to meet them out at the bar.

He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to rationalize his thoughts.

That didn't mean anything. An ID and an abandoned car. That could've just been some sort of mistake. He prayed that this was all just one big misunderstanding, but while that was still unknown the team was going to investigate.

Hotch walked into the conference room where Reid and Rossi were waiting, "They weren't at the diner. They went to a bar with a friend and the car is still there…along with JJ's ID."

"What does that mean?" Reid asked.

Hotch sat down at the table in the room, "We don't know so right now we're going to treat it like the worst case scenario. Hopefully, better circumstances with reveal themselves."

Reid nodded slowly, staying silent.

Hotch was curious. It was a rare occurrence for Reid to be silent at a time like this. "Reid?" They made eye contact, "Do you know something that you aren't telling me?" He asked firmly.

Rossi watched the two closely, not completely sure what was happening.

"No." Reid shook his head, defensively. He didn't elaborate on the topic, "Don't you think we should call Garcia and catch her up, maybe get her to find out who their "friend" was?"

Hotch eyed him for a few moments longer, scrutinizing, trying to decide if he was going to believe him or not. In the end, he decided that he would address it later. "Yes. I'll call her right now." He stood up and left the room, getting Garcia on the phone quickly.

Reid watched from the conference room, trying to keep his face stoic. He had been entrusted by JJ and he was not about to give up one of the secrets that she cherished enough to keep hidden for so long. He watched Hotch talk on the phone with Garcia and tried to think of a strategy for the next time that Hotch asked him about the subject.

He came up empty.

Hotch walked back into the room a few moments later. "She said that she would look into it and call us when she gets a hit. I think right now, we should concentrate on Jareau family enemies because framing a father for murder and then taking the kids hostage is not something someone would have done without pre-planning, thought and years of hatred."

Just as they were about to launch into a conversation about it, there was a knock on the door. As it creaked open, they were all surprised to see who was standing the in the doorway:

JJ.

She didn't smile or greet them or acknowledge her absence in any way. Her eyes drifted to Reid over to Rossi and then to Hotch.

"JJ?" Hotch asked, standing up and walking towards her.

JJ's eyes followed him as he stood, "Stop." She held her hand up and waited until he stopped walking to start talking again, "I'm sorry for being gone for so long, but I just needed some time…to think and I've decided to come clean."

Her voice was a monotone, bland, but the emotion in her eyes was true. She looked like she really meant what she was saying, but there was no way for any of them to be sure.

Reid stared at her, wondering if she was going to tell the others about the secret. He wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not, but also wasn't willing to stop her either.

Hotch watched her like a hawk, wondering what she was talking about.

JJ let out a shaky sigh, "I did it. I framed my father for the murders that he was arrested for. I killed those girls and framed him. I don't know why I did it, I always hated him when I was a child and I guess I just wanted him to get what he deserved. I killed them, those girls and…and…." She stuttered, looking like she was struggling to get the last words out, "my mother. I killed my mother."

* * *

"Manipulation, fueled with good intent, can be a blessing. But when used wickedly, it is the beginning of a magician's karmic calamity."

**T.F. Hodge**


	10. Chapter 10

"Life is the art of being well deceived; and in order that the deception may succeed it must be habitual and uninterrupted."

**William Hazlitt**

* * *

Emily trudged into the police station, phone griped tightly in her hand. The moment she passed through the doors with Morgan behind her, she saw Reid standing by the doors, waiting for them.

"Reid, what the hell? You texted 911, get back ASAP. What is that supposed to mean? What could possibly be more important than going over a crime scene?" She stared at him, expectantly, holding out her phone.

Reid blinked in response before turning his head to stare across the offices.

Emily and Morgan both followed his gaze. Across the room they saw JJ sitting at one of the desks, her face blank and her stare distant. She stretched awkwardly to turn around and look at something behind her, but they couldn't tell what it was.

"What is she doing back?" Morgan asked.

Reid didn't answer; he waited until Hotch walked up behind her. He gently put his hand on her back and she stood up when she felt his touch. And then finally, they realized what Reid was trying to tell them.

JJ's arms were twisted behind her, handcuffed.

She and Hotch walked into the nearby interrogation room, leaving Emily and Morgan both speechless in shock.

Reid turned so that he was looking at them again.

"Explain." Emily demanded, obviously frustrated that he wasn't just outright telling them what was going on.

Reid let out a small sigh, "JJ came in about an hour ago, just walked right in and then confessed to the murders that her father had been framed for and the murder of her own mother." He told them, his voice free of any emotion.

Morgan scrunched his eyebrows, "No. She couldn't have…she was with us and-and she said that her mom died, she wasn't murdered."

Reid met Morgan's eyes and nodded slowly, "We thought the same thing, but when we asked Garcia to look into it, she found out that Sandy Jareau had died of a gunshot wound to the chest in robbery in Pittsburgh."

Morgan shook his head, "But you don't think that JJ did it, do you? No she couldn't have…she's JJ…she…no." He shook his head again.

Reid stared at him, "Come on. Hotch is questioning her now."

* * *

**::FLASHBACK::**

After Carson injected her with something, she wasn't sure what, sleep came peacefully and dreamlessly. Although she would have liked more of this period of pure, deep sleep, it only last for an hour or two. When she finally woke up, she was in the backseat of a car and 80s music was blaring in the speakers. She wondered how she could have slept through the radio playing Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates so loud, but she figured that it must have been the drugs.

As she tried to move she realized that her wrists were tied together and then tied to her ankles, which were also tied together. Basically, it made it impossible for her to move or struggle.

Carson glanced back in the rearview mirror and noticed her waking up, "Hello there." He grinned, "You slept for a lot longer than I would have thought. I guess I forgot that you'd probably be a lightweight."

JJ was silent, looking out the windows. She couldn't tell where they were, it looked like normal suburban scenery, but then again everything was still a bit blurry because her drugs were still wearing off.

As her vision cleared, she realized that they were in downtown East Allegheny. It was closest thing to a "city" that she'd had growing up. Groggily, she met Carson's eyes in the rearview mirror again. "Where are we going?" She asked, her voice coming out as more of a moan than a statement.

Carson pulled into a parking lot that she didn't recognize and parked the car. He turned around once the car was off, "Correction: Where are _you_ going?" He smiled, "Listen carefully. We're here because I need you to do a favor for me."

JJ narrowed her eyes at him, "And where is _here?"_

"There will be time for that, be patient." Carson ordered gently before turning around to face forward again.

He reached into the center console and pulled out a watch. Slowly and cautiously, being careful to make sure that she knew he wasn't threatening her, he turned around, leaned into the backseat and put the watch on her wrist. It was an expensive-looking watch that most people would probably expect to be analog because of the large circular piece, but deceptively turned out to be digital. As JJ was staring at it, she saw a small circle in the center blink bright red.

Carson had been watching, "That light," he started, "it blinks every 10 minutes. That will be my only contact with you throughout this process. If it blinks that means that you're good and you should keep doing what you're doing, if it doesn't your brothers are in trouble and you have 20 minutes from that missed blink to fix whatever you did. If it starts blinking rapidly, you get out of there as quickly as you can, got it? Any questions?"

"Where am I going?"

Carson looked to his left and her eyes followed his gaze until they reached her destination: the police station.

"Why?" She asked, turning back to him.

Carson's lips curled into a wicked smile, "I want you to go in there and take credit for everything I've done. I want you to confess to the murders of the two girls that I tried to use to frame your stupid father. And when they think you're done…you will confess to the murder of your mother."

JJ stared at him, her eyes cold.

"Not too far from the truth, is it?" Carson teased, pulling out a knife and starting to cut her free from the ropes. "You will not tell anyone that I told you to confess, you will not give clues, you will not try to escape. If you do any of those things, I will kill your brothers and I'm not a bluffer, trust me."

"Any other guidelines I need to follow?"

Carson shook his head, "Convince them that you did it. If you can do that, I won't kill your brothers." He pulled out a cell phone. "Here." He said, "This will only ring if I call and I won't call until you are in the clear. Just remember…I'll be watching; it's not that hard to hack cameras these days." He cut the last of JJ's ropes, "Don't do anything stupid." Those were the last words she heard him say before she got out of the car, a bit wobbly at first and then started towards the police station.

* * *

JJ let out a long sigh, trying to seem as normal as possible, which was hard considering how big of a lie she was in. Casually, she looked down at the watch on her wrist.

Nothing.

She waited a few seconds, her heart pounding neurotically. Just as she was about assume the worst; she saw a small blink come from the middle of the watch. The time was 10:10 so the next blink would be at 10:20 and so on. That realization helped her anxiety considerably until the door to her right creaked open to reveal the one person she had least expected to see.

"Reid?" Her eyes followed him as he made his way to his seat without recognizing or returning her greeting.

He met her gaze over the table, his eyes blank. Slowly, he opened his mouth and uttered four words: "Start from the beginning."

JJ knew exactly what he was talking about. She figured that they would ask that. They were probably trying to overwhelm her into making some inconsistency in the story that she had previously told Reid the night before, but she'd had plenty of time to think it over so that method wasn't going to work, not this time.

Keeping her gaze even with Reid's and her body language normal she started the story, "It was my 15th birthday when it happened. We had just started making the cake when the doorbell rang. I remember my brother Cole ran and got it only to find that my mother had come by to "visit", but in reality, she had just learned of my sister's suicide. She was furious and stormed into the house, yelling at my dad, saying that he was the reason she was dead. He looked like he wanted to yell back, but…he just took it. I remember thinking that he was being brave, maybe even that he sort of believed it. Anyway, I know I told you last night that she left and was found murdered in a "robbery" and my brothers and I had thought my dad killed her, but that wasn't true. This is what…really happened. She was so angry, yelling that my dad was a monster and that he caused everything bad that had ever happened in the family and when my dad tried to calm her down, she pulled out a gun. There was this craziness in her eyes that made me realize something in her had changed, turns out she was on something, some drug. They found it in her system after she died and that day, we could see it in her: that crazy look in her eyes and the way her hands shook as she held the gun out only had one explanation."

"I was sure she was going to shoot him, but before she had the chance my brother reminded me about the gun that my dad held in a cabinet in his office. I was behind her and she was so set on my father that it was easy to slip away. When I came back, she was screaming at him, her finger pressing on the trigger. My dad jumped at her and tried to knock the gun out of her hands, but she shot before he even reached her. He fell into her and even with a gunshot wound to the abdomen; he tried to reach for the gun. She was slowly overpowering him and I thought she was going to kill her so…while they were struggling…I shot her." She looked down at the table for a few seconds before continuing, "Cole took my dad to the hospital, said he'd been injured in a hunting accident and Travis and I…we…we put her body in the alley."

Reid stared at her and squinted, "That will be all." He stood up quickly and walked out, leaving JJ alone. He walked into the room on the other side of the two-way mirror where the team was waiting, "That was the story she told me. The beginning was almost word for word, but she had left out the ending when she told me the first time."

Hotch was holding his phone in his hand. He set it down on the table, "So that means the beginning is probably true, Garcia just needs to check some of the facts towards the end and see if that part is true too."

"Working on it." Garcia's phone came through the phone, more gloomy than usual. There was typing in the background as she spoke, "I can't believe this is happening." She muttered.

Emily was standing by the mirror watching JJ. It was weird, she thought, because JJ was staring directly at the mirror almost like she could see them through it. It was creepy, but Emily knew that there was no way that was possible. And then, disrupting her thoughts, she noticed something, "Guys…why does she keep checking her watch?"

Morgan and Hotch both walked over only to see JJ sitting still in her chair, staring at the two-way mirror. They glanced at Emily, confused.

She clarified, "It's periodically. Watch, she'll look at it in a few minutes."

The trio watched JJ in silence, waiting. The minutes passed slowly, but eventually, they all noticed her glance down at her watch, stare at it for a minute or two and then go back the position that she was previously in.

"Okay," Emily looked at her own watch, "it's every 10 minutes that she's looking at it, but why?"

Hotch kept his gaze on JJ, "Maybe she's waiting for something…or someone."

"She might just be checking the time." Morgan suggested.

Emily shook her head, "If she was checking the time, she wouldn't stare like she does or look at it at perfect 10 minutes intervals. There's something going on with her watch. Was she doing it while she was talking to Reid?"

"No." Reid said from where he was standing behind them, "I would have remembered that. I was making direct eye contact with her the entire time."

Hotch nodded insightfully, "Well next time we go in, we should ask her something about that. It will catch her off-guard, throw her off her game and from now on, no more FBI techniques, she knows them all. Stick to the basics, try to get her out of her comfort zone."

"I got something." Garcia's voice came through right as Hotch finished talking. The team rushed over the table where the phone was sitting, "Not good news." She added, "In the autopsy of Sandy Jareau, there were traces of crack-cocaine in her system. Witnesses, more specifically friends of hers, said that she started with that when she separated from her second husband."

"And…" The analyst continued, "On JJ's birthday, in the year that she would have turned 15, there is a police report on file of a hunting accident documented for a Mr. Michael Jareau. His medical transcript is also in the files of the hospital a few miles from here. I'm sending both of those things to you now."

Reid shook his head, "I don't get it. Her story checks out, but how?" He stared at the other team members standing across from him, "Did she do it?"

"No." Hotch answered almost immediately.

"How can you be so sure?" Morgan asked.

Hotch looked at him incredulously, "I've seen plenty of murderers in my life. Even come face to face with a lot of them and I know all of you have too." He paused, looked at JJ through the two-way mirror and then turned so that he was facing all of the team members, "JJ is not one of them."

His tone of voice was firm, certain. The look in his eyes, however, showed the exact opposite.

* * *

"We have to recognize that there cannot be relationships unless there is commitment, unless there is loyalty, unless there is love, patience, persistence."

**Cornel West**


End file.
